


























































|L 3 
I i 


. 4 

tl 




4 



ft' 










Tin: 


RISE AND FALL 

OF 

STATES AND EMPIRES; 

OR THE 

Antiquities of JSations, 


MORE PAUTICOLARLY 


OF THE CELT.E OR GAULS: 

\ 

CONTAlNIxNCJ A 


GREAT VARIETY OF HISTORICAL, CHRONOLOGIC4L, AND 
ETYMOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES, MANY OF THEM 
UNKNOWN ROTH TO THE GREEKS 
AND ROMANS. 



BY m/pEZRON. 


TO WHICH IS PREFIXED A SKETCH OF THE LIFE OP 

THE AUTHOR. 

« ' 'I 


LONDON : 

PRINTED FOR M. JONES, 








THE 




LIFE OF PAUL PEZRON. 


This writer was born at Hennebon in Bre¬ 
tagne, in the year 1039; and was made a 
Bernardine in the Ahhe de Prieres in iGOl.^ 
He was received as a doctor of the Sorbonnein 
l6S2, and governed afterwards his college of 
Bernardines at Paris with equal zeal and suc¬ 
cess. Many honourable employs were confided 

to him by his order, in which he displayed 

( 

t 

much love for monastic discipline. 

In 1697 he was nominated abbe of the 
Charmoie ,* but his love of study induced him 
to relinquish this in 1703. From this time he 





LIFE OF 


vi 

became more entirely devoted to books^ and 
resigned hiinself assiduously to literary la¬ 
bour. His incessant pursuits enfeebled his 
health, and he died on the 10th Oct. 1706, 
in the C7th year of his age. 

Nature had given to Pezron a prodigious 
memory, and an indefatigable ardour, which 
suffered him to relinquish nothing that he 
undertook. He was deeply learned, but his 
learning did not always rest upon solid,foun¬ 
dations. Among the conjectures with which 
his works are filled some are lucky and some 
are false. His productions are, 

I. A learned treatise, entitled The jlyitiquity 
of Time established, 1687, 4to. In this the 
author undertakes to support the chronology 
of the Septuagint against that of the Hebrew 
text of the bible : and he enters more deeply 



PAUL PEZRON. 


• • 

into the subject than any chronologist had be- 

i . . 

i fore him. This work made a great noise at its 
! first appearance, and like all similar books^ 
i had admirers and detractors. Don Martiana^y 

i 

! a Benedictine, and Pere It Quien, a Domini- 

\ 

can, both employed their pens against it: the 
• first with his usual warmth and impetuosity, 
which suffered him neither to adhere to his 
subject, nor to soften the severity of his in¬ 
vectives. Lt Quien wrote with more preci¬ 
sion and moderation. 

II. ^ Defence of the Antiquity of Time, in 
which the Tradition of the Fathers and of the 
Church is supported, against that of the Tal¬ 
mud ; and in which is demonstrated the corrup¬ 
tion-of the Hebrew of the Jews, 4to. l691» 
This work, like the preceding, is filled with 
curious researches, and the author defends 
himself with modesty. Pere U Quien replied ; 




LIFE OF 


• « 9 

Till 

hut Don Martianay referred the cause to ano¬ 
ther tribunal. He denounced in 169.% to Du 
Harlay, archbishop of Paris, the book, and opi¬ 
nions of Pezron. The prelate, however, would 
not be influenced by prejudice or deception: 
he sent to Pezron the Memoir of his adversa¬ 
ry. Pezron found no difficulty in defending 
an opinion common to all thq fathers before 
St, Jerome; and thus the malicious ac- 
cusation of Martianay fell to the ground. 

III. Attempt of a Commentary on the Pro- 
phetSj 169s. 12mo. Thisis literal and historical, 
and it throws much light on the history of the 
kings ofJudaand Israel. 

\ 

IV. Evangelical History, confirmed by the 
Jttdaical and Poman, I696. 2 voh, 12mo. In 
this learned work may be found all that pro¬ 
fane history furnishes either curious or useful. 


PAUL PEZRON. 


IX 


i in support and illustration of the evangelical 
i part of histor}^ 

! V. The Antiquity of NationHj 1703, Svo. 

I This bookj which is before the reader in the 
following pageSj is full of research, and it 
was intended to form part of another work, 
more extensive, on the Origin of Nations, 
The author however did not live to finish it. 
In the Antiquity of Nations, however, there 
is much learning, much ingenuity, and much 
truth displayed. 





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THE 




AUTHOR^S PREFACE. 

, / 



Having in this work treated of several things 
which are both curious and new, I ought in the 
first place to declare, how and upon what account I 
have entered upon this subject, and to point out that 
which is most singular relating to it. As I was me¬ 
ditating on the holy scriptures, and more particu¬ 
larly on the tenth chapter of Genesis, which, is of¬ 
ten very slightly considered, great difficulties oc¬ 
curred to me, the removing of which must needs 
be both useful and agreeable. It was in contem¬ 
plating this part of divine writ for some time, that 
induced me to form a design of searching into the 
Origin of Nations, whose first fathers and founders 
Moses indicates to us in this chapter. While I was 
carrying on this work, which is almost finished, it 


PREFACE. 


• • 

XU 

seemed to me that M. Bochart, •vvho is regarded as 
one that has written the best of any upon the subject, 
might be mistaken in several important matters; 
and I more particularly observed, that he had said 
nothing concerning the origin of the Celtae, a peo-‘ 
pie better known by the name of Gauls, Now, we 
being the descendants of these celebrated people, 
for we arc in reality born in that country anciently 
called Gaul, and as the very first beginnings of 
them are noted in this same chapter of Genesis, to- ' 
gether with those of other people, who in process 
of time replenished the earth with their colonies : 

I thought I might do my country some service, if 
I should be able to trace our origin up to its 
source, by referring to the most ancient times, and 
the very first authors of our original, 

I know not whether I have been so fortunate as 
to'find out those obscure points, which, according 
to the common opinion arc not to be discovered, 
being too dark and remote : the world must judge 
of that, and I have some room to hope, it wili ' 
judge favourably, if it will but have the patience i 
to read over only one half of this undertaking. 

If I deceive, which 1 have no inclination to do, I 
shall first be deceived myself, because I believe 



PREFACE. 


xiii 

I have, by a very singular method and mode 
of enquiry, mounted up as high as the source of 
our nation or its original stem. Those who have 
seen parts of it, for I never pretended to make a 
mystery of what I wrote, have not thought me to 
be far distant from truth. ^ And, if indeed, it has 
not been my fortune to meet with it, I have 
at least taken all the care I could, not to obtrude 
talcs upon the public ; or I may rather say imper¬ 
tinences, which tend only to raise tlie indignation, 
of those that read them. They are errors, how¬ 
ever, which most of those have fallen into who 
have pretended to find out the antiquity of nations: 
they have introduced a thousand extravagancies up¬ 
on that subject, following the authority of Annius 
Viterbus, a fabulous author, if indeed there ever 
was such a man ; and even in respect to those par¬ 
ticulars in which they have not followed him, they 
have w'ritten abundance of things equally ridicu¬ 
lous. 

As the present age has a relish of what is good 
sense, we must have recourse for it to the right 
sources, the ancient authors: this I have endea¬ 
voured to do, and they have been my guides in 
hese obscure and,untrodden paths. 


xiv 


preface. 


Let me not therefore be blamed for saying that Go- 
mer,who according to the scripture, was Japhet’s el¬ 
dest son, and the grandson of Noah, ought to be 
looked upon as the first and true father of the i 
Gauls, commonly called Galatians by the Greeks. 
This 1 have learnt from Josephus’ Jewish Antiqui¬ 
ties, and after him from Eustathius of Antioch, St, 3 
Isidore of Scvilfe, and some others ; and when 
these things are maturely considered, they will be 
found to be neither slightly spoken, nor far distant 
from truth. The Gauls therefore, according to 
their authority, are the posterity of Gomer ; and 
they were right in saying, that the first name they 
went by, while yet in Upper Asia, was that of Go- 
maritCwS, or Gomarians; after which they had that 
of Sacae or Saques, and under that appellation be¬ 
came very celebrated in the countries of Margiana 
and Bactriana. But having, in after ages multi¬ 
plied greatly, and, in several incursions, made « 
themselves masters of Asia Minor, Thrace, the isle 1 
of Crete, and all Greece, they assumed the name of..J 
Titans, or the children of the earth ; and it was un- I 
der this name, so much celebrated by the ancient I 
poets and historians, that they performed such " 
mighty things, both in part of Asia, and all over 
Eurojie, for the space of above three hundred years. 






PREFACE. 


XV 


We shall besides find, that some of these people 
having separated from the rest, (who continued in 
Upper Asia), and seized on the northern parts above 
the Euxine, and far beyond the Danube, were cal¬ 
led Cimbri, or Cimbrians, that is, men of war ; and 
these were they whom the Greek poets called Cim¬ 
merians, after which these warlike people took the 
name of Celtas, when they settled in the provinces 
of Europe. A.nd lastly, they had the name of 
Gauls, when they had thoroughly fixed themselves 
in those rich countries, situated between the ocean 
and the Rhine, and between the Alps and the Py¬ 
renees, being those in which we now dwell; though 
these two names of Celtae and Gauls, signified, to a 
certain degree, the same thing, i, e. potent and vali¬ 
ant men. As I jierceive that this preface will extend 
further than I intended, I must crave the reader’s 
patience, and I dare assure him, that the novelty of 
the things which will be brought forward, will so 
excite his curiosity, that he will not be w earied. To 
return therefore to the Gauls. 

This celebrated people, several ages before they 
had this name, w’ere as I have already observed, cal¬ 
led Titans, while they were possessed of the pro¬ 
vinces of Asia Minor, and all those of Greece, and 


PREFACE. 


XMl 

the neighbouring countries. We cannot easily 
imagine the great and extraordinary things they 
performed under this name, above two thousand 
years before our Saviour was born ; for if we give 
credit to history, they seem to have erected an em¬ 
pire, which reached from the Euphrates to the ut¬ 
most parts of Spain and Mauritania, and was not 
much short of that of Rome. There is some slight 
mention made of them in the scripture, where it 
sometimes speaks of these people under the name 
of Titans, and sometimes of giants, for they were 
of huge stature, and in their time masters of the 
earth, qiii terrw dominati sunt. The ancient 
fathers, and those who have written apologies for 
the primitive Christians, in defending the true reli¬ 
gion, agree that they were very potent; I say, in 
defending the true religion; for they strenuously 
opposed Paganism, shewed that it was grounded 
purely on false worship, and that those of the Ti¬ 
tans who were called Uranus, Saturn, and Jupiter, 
were not gods, as the Greeks and Romans vainly . 
believed, but potent princes and mortal men. The , 
ancient fathers easily discriminated this, though they 
could not tell whence those Titan princes came, who 
were so renowned in fables, nor of what race or 
'Origin they wxre. But all this is not only distinct* 





FllEFACH. 


%•« 

ITil 

tfj but copiously discussed in the following pages ; 
and also treated iu swch a manner as makes it a 
true history, and cleared from those fictions which 
have hitherto obscured and disfigured it. 

The reader will also have the gratification of 
learning who this Uranus was, whom profane au'- 
fhors have foolishly called Heaven, though he was 
DO more than an earthly prince, the son of Acmon, 
who in ancient times ruled in Cappadocia and 
Phrygia : also that Sadorn, in Latin called Satur- 
nus, the son of Uranus, after many intrigues and 
much violence, seized on the empire of the Titans, 
to the prejudice of his elder brother; and that as¬ 
suming the purple with the crown, he was the first 
of them that took the title of king upon him. It 
will also be found, that his son, prince Jou, after¬ 
wards called Jupiter, went to dethrone his father^ 
and after a bloody war by sea and land, for ten suc¬ 
cessive years, possessed himself of his vast domini¬ 
ons. All these things are distinctly brought for¬ 
ward in the following pages, as well as (he place 
where Jupiter was born, his being brotight up by 
the Curetes, and much more, vyhich I cannot de¬ 
tail in this place. But what is peculiarly worthy 
of notice is, that these princes, who in ancient tiiae 

b 







]rRErACE. 


. were so famous and renewed, and by the Greeks j 
and Romans even worshipped as gods, nay more, j 
as the almighty gods of heaven and earth, were of \ 
the same race or people, from whom the Gauls af. 
terwards came; and it will be evidently proved 

, 1 

from the names of these supposed divinities, and \ 
from other testimonies, that they had no othern 
language than that of the Celt®, which in Caesar’s! 
time was spoken in Gaul, and which language is pre- ^ 
served to this day in Bretagne. il 

il 

It will also be curious to observe, that the Spar- | 
tans or Lacedemonians, a people formerly so re¬ 
nowned in Greece, should, as it were, in their very 
infancy be intermixed with the Titans, and derive the 
greatest part of their language and customs from 
them. And, without saying any thing of the Cre¬ 
tans, and Etolians, and some other people of 
Greece, who it will be shewn borrowed a great 
deal from them, tliat the Umbrians, the most ancient 
nation in all Italy, were the real descendants of the 
Titans ; and hence it is, without doubt, that the 
Roman historians regarded them as the race of the 
most ancient Gauls, saying, Umbri veierum Gallon 
rum propago. But it will be farther shewn, that 
the Sabines wlio caused so much trouble to the Rq» 






rREFACF., 


xix: 

mans, had their true origin from tiiese Umbrians; 
all which being duly considered, it is no wander 
that their language was very like tliat of theCcHa;: 
the same may be said also concerning the OscijCalled 
Opiqui by the Grecians, who were another people 
of Italy contiguous to Rome ; and their language, 
which was half Gaulish, was preserved in that great 
city by the means of the Osquan games, or Attel- 
lane fables. I here omit a multitude of other things; 
as for example, w^ho the Curetcs, the keepers of 
Jupiter, were, which was never knovvn even to the 
Greeks or Romans ; and several particulars of an¬ 
cient history, which, being curious in themselves, 
cannot be uninteresting to the lovers of antiquity. 

It will be satisfactorily shew n, that the language. 
: of those Titan princes, I mean Saturn and Jupiter, 

I was the same as the Celtick, or Gaulish tongue. 

I And it is not therefore to be wondered at, that the 
language of these same Titans, who, for so many 
I ages had dominion over Greece and Italy, should 
' be intermixed with those of the ancient Greeks and 
Latins : a fact w^hich will appear very plainly, es¬ 
pecially in the language of the ancient Kolians, a 
people of Greece, and that of the old Latins, who, 

the name of Aborigines; all which i shall 

i) 2 






XX 


PREFACE. 


prove, and so clearly, that I trust it will not 
I c easy to confest it. In a word, how could | 
the Titans so long have had dominion over Greece 
and Italy, without insensibly communicating their 
language to the people ? They were also the same 
Titans, which to me seems probable enough, or at 
least their descendants, that settled colonies all over 
Germany ; I mean among that brave nation, which 
was so renowned of old, those ancient and valiant 
people called Teutons. If any one should think 
he proofs which I have given of these things in the 
body of the book not convincing enough, let them i 
peruse the copious alphabetical tables at the end, 
and they will find, that the Greek, Latin, and High 
Dutch, to say nothing of the languages of other 
people, are full of Ci-ltick or Gaulish words. 


This may seem very strange to us in these days, 
though nothing is more evident; but it will be 
much more so, when perhaps I may make it apj 
pear, that the Grecians, who have valued themselves 
so much, have not only as well as the Latins, bor¬ 
rowed a great part of their language from the Celtae, 
and other barbarous nations of the north, but that 
it was also from them that they seem to liave had 
the lirst knowledge of the celestial sphere, as well 




PREFACE. 


XXI 


as of the constellations ; and therefore it was false 
in the great Scaliger, and several other learned raen 
t)f our times, to pretend, that when the ancient 
astronomers, whether Greeks or Romans, mention 
in their writings the sphere of the barbarians, they 
meant the sphere of the Egyptians, or of some other 
eastern nations, such as the Chaldeans and Arabi¬ 
ans. It does not seem to me as if there were any 
thing of truth in all this. By this sphere of the 
barbarians, must be meant that of tiie ancient Cel- 
tick and northern people, from whom the Greeks 
borrowed it, and by which they formed their own, 
and which, after many addilions and alterations, 
they at last brought to perfection. But this is not 
a place for these things: I shall say but a few 
more words to shew that the Greeks borrowed more 
than is usually thought from the barbarians, whom 
they have so much despised, and especially from tie 

I Celta2 or Gauls. 

1 ■ ' 

t * 

i 

If my own testimony be doubted on this head, 

' we need go no farther than to the preface of Dio¬ 
genes Laertius, where we find, and that upon the 
authority of Arislotleand Sotion, thatthe very nidi- 
! ments of philosophy came from the barbarians,among 
j whom were reckoned the Ccitac or Gauls ; ansi 






PUEFACli, 


xxii 

though Diogenes Laertius is of a contrary opinion, 
it would be no difiicult matter to overthrow all his 
arguments ; for he is eminently ridiculous where 
he pretends that mankind, and consequently philo¬ 
sophy, had its origin from the Grecians, 

But I had forgott n that I have so far digressed, 
and that my readers may perhaps be w’eary of me. 
1 shall conclude with one remark, which is, That the 
language of thc'Htans, which was that of the ancient 
Gauls, is, after a revolution of above four thousand 
years, preserved even to our time. A singular fact, 
that so ancient a language should now be spoken 
by the Armorican Bretons in France, and by the an¬ 
cient Britons in Wales? for these are the people 
who have the honour of preserving the language of 
the posterity of Gomer, Japhet’s eldest son, and the 
nephew of Shem ; and the language of those princes 
called Saturn and Jupiter, who passed for great dei¬ 
ties among the ancients. 

As to the rest, I have entirely overthrown the 
opinions entertained of the false heathen divinities, 
by discovering their true origin ; and thus I hope 
I have done no small service to true religion, whose 
tlrmest basis rests upon the detection of fablejj, and 






preface* 


xtiii 

the overthrow of error. But if, after all I have said, 
it should be thought that I have undertaken this 
subject with a design to aggrandize my own nation, 
by demonstrating that it is one of the most ancient 
' in the world: 1 here boldly affirm the falsity of such 
a suggestion. I honour my country as much as any 
man, but I am far from being able to add any thing 
to its glory ; and if I could, it should be without 
any design of interest, and it is very well known I 
am not hired to do it. It is therefore nothing but 
i a love of, and search after truth, that has engaged 
I me in this undertaking. If it has been my for¬ 
tune to meet with it, from the knowledge which I 
possess of the Celtick language, and the perusal of 
I ancient authors, I have not been wanting to discover 
it to the public. 

This work, besides what has been already stated, 
contains the true origin of the Jaonian,or Ionian 
Greeks; as also that of the ancient Eolians, and 
I Dorians; and the beginning of those people called 
the Aborigines, who were thought to be descendants 
from the Ansonians, the ancient inhabitants of Pelo- , 
ponesus, is here enquired into. Lastly, I have 
, sought in to the origin of the Parthians, and Persians, 
which last were the progeny of the former; and 






PREFACE. 


into that of the Phrygians, Dacians, and Germans, 
and this in a peculiar manner, and such as tends to 
clear up a great many difficulties, especially with re¬ 
gard to the conformity which learned men observe 
between the Persian andTeutonick languages. All 
this falls naturally within the compass of my subject, 
which if I well discuss, may the glory be given to 
<jod, the P'ather of light and truth ! 


*' i '4 

I , 

' * f I 

j 

' ‘f’ »- . J 


CONTENTS. 


I 



BOOK I. 

CHAP. I. 


Of the antiquity of the nation and language of the Celtar 
otherwise called Gauls - - » Page I 

CHAP. II. 

Of the several names of the ancient Gauls » 7 


CHAP. III. 

Of the true origin of the Celta; from Gomer - 15 


CHAP. IV, 

Of the Gomarians that were called Sacae 

CHAP. V. 

Of the Sacae falling into Armenia 

CHAP. VI. 

Of the Sacoe that passed into Cappadocia 

CHAP. Vll.. 


24 

36 

• 41 


That the Cimbri, and the Cimmerii, were the Celtae that dwelt 
in the northern parts - " " - 46 


SXVl 


CONTENTS, 


I I 

CHAP. VIII. 

That the Sacae went into Phrygia and afterwards assumed the 
name of Titans - . - - 50,5 


CHAP. IX. 

That Uranus prince of the Titans, succeeded his father 
Acmon - , - _ _ 57' 


CHAP. X; 

That Saturn, the son of Uranus, was the first king of the Ti¬ 
tans - - - - - - 66 I 

CHAP. XI. 

Jupiter makes war against his father Saturn, and after his death 
reigned alone over the Titans - - - 75 

CHAP. XII. 

That Jupiter, the son of Saturn, reigned alone over the Ti¬ 
tans ------ 89 

CHAP. XIII. 

Who the Curetes were, so famous amongst the Titans 105 

CHAP. XIV. 

That the Titans were true Celtae - - 111 

CHAP. XV. 

A recapitulation of what has been said concerning the Titan 
kings ------ 124 


CHAP. XVI. 

Of ^the people of Greece, the descendants of the Titans 155 




CONTENTS. 


XXV 


CHAP. XYIL 

That the 3p£irt{iDS, or Lacedemonians,came from the Celtae 142- 

CHAP, XVIII. 

Of the conformity there is between the Spartans and Titans 154 

CHAP. XIX. 

That the Umbrians were by the ancients taken to be Celtae or 
Gauls . - _ - _ 

CHAP. XX. 

That the Sabins were the descendants of the Umbrians and 
Spartans - - - - - 169 


BOOK II. 

CHAP. I. 

The origin of the Celtick, otherwise callad the Gaulish lan¬ 
guage _ . _ - « J79 


CHAP. II. 

What the ancient language of the Grecians was before the time 
"of Deucalion and his son Hellerms - - 200 

CHAP. III. 

Of the ancient language of the Aborigines, since called La¬ 
tins 23S 


CHAP. IV. 

Of the true origin of the Teulones or Germans 


278 



xxviii CONTENTS. 

CHAP. V. 

That the Teutonick language hath borrowed much from the 
Celtick , - - - - 300 

CHAP. VI. 

That the Persian language hath borrowed much from the Teu¬ 
tonick - - - 306 


CHAP. VII. 


Of the following table - - » - 315 

BOOK III. 

CHAP. I. 

A TABLE of Greek words, taken from the Celtick or Gaulish 
language - - - - - ^319 

CHAP. II. 

Ata])le of Latin words taken from the Celtick or Gaulish lan- 

Swage - - - ... 338 


CHAP. III. 

* 

A table of the Teutonick or German words, that are taken from 
the Celtick language - - - . oq 2 



THE 


ANTIQUITIES OF NATIONS. 


CHAP. I. 

Of the Antiquity of the Nation and Language of 
the Celtce^ otherwise called Gauls. 


Great nations, such, I mean, as have been fa¬ 
mous, and made a considerable figure in the world, 
are somewhat like great rivers which are never 
thoroughly known, until ascended to their source. 
The Celtae, a people better known by the name of 
Gauls, are justly reputed great, on account of the 
number of their people, their valiant actions, or the 
antiquity of descent; but they must be allowed to 
be truly so, when considered in reference to all 
these in the aggregate, and that upon incontestable 
terms, which in respect to the Celtic or Gaulish 
nation cannot be disputed. 

u 



2 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. I. 


In the first place, the nation was very numerous, 
for in the reign of Augustus Caesar, when its gran¬ 
deur was much abated, and as it were confined 
within narrower bounds, Gaul contained no less 
than sixty great divisions of people and territory; 
which among them were called cities or societies ; 
that they were brave and valiant we have proofs 
590 years before our Saviour’s nativity, viz. in 
the reign of Tarquin the elder, when a very nu¬ 
merous army of Gauls, having opened the passages 
of the Alps under the conduct of Bellovesus, in a 
short time invaded a great part of Italy, which 
from them was called Gallia Cisalpina ; and having, 
two hundred years after this, made themselves mas¬ 
ters of Rome, they were for some ages the terror 
of the Romans, whom God had destined one day to 
be masters of the world. But though there was 
something here that might be called great, yet it was 
nothing in comparison to what they had done long 
before in Asia Minor, Greece, and all the West. 
In short,this nation has annexed antiquity to the num¬ 
ber and valour of its people, for it had its beginning 
in the provinces of the Higher Asia, some ages after 
the flood, and had then kings of its own, and even 
very renowned ones in the time of Abraham, and 
before Ninus reigned in Assyria, 





CHAP. 1. 


OF NATIONS. 


8 


In advancing things of this nature, and which 
seem to be so remote from us, we must carry 
the antiquity of the Celta; very far, and entertain 
extensive ideas of this warlike nation. I fear they 
will at first sight be regarded as only imaginary and 
chimerical notions, to say no worse of them. Yet 
there are inconsistencies and difficulties that may per¬ 
haps be removed : we should indeed be very circum¬ 
spect, when we meet with any thing made public 
that deviates widely from the ordinary track ; and 
we must say, that whoever attempts it without 
good proofs and convincing reasons, ought to be 
distrusted. 

Having premised thus much, which I do not deem 
irrelevant to my subject, I fancy I hear some learn• 
ed men already object and say, What can be written 
concerning the antiquity of the Celtse, more than 
is in Csesar’s Commentaries, who conquered and 
subjected them to the Homan power ? Was there 
any thing that could escape the knowledge and 
perspicacity of that great man ? Has he not said in 
his writings as much as could be said concerning 
this great people ? And where are those monu¬ 
ments to be met with at this day, that can inform us 
of what he was ignorant ? These are the objections, 
or rather sallies I have often met with, when I 

B 2 ' 


I 


4 THE ANTIQUITIES CHAP. I. 

have attempted to shew particular persons what I fl 
am now discovering to the public. 

• It must be unconditionally allowed that Cassar, 
who has said so much of the Gauls in his excellent 
Commentaries, has said nothing of the antiquity of } 
the nation : he is content to observe in a very 
few words that, according to the tradition of the 
Druids, they were descended from Pluto. Galli sc 
emnes ab Dite patre prognatos proedicant does 
tlie hearing the conqueror of the Gaulish nation 
speak in this manner, concerning those people and 
their origin, alford us more knowledge, or a greater 
light into things than before ? Is it not plain that 
his book, de Bello Gallico, was written with no other i 
intent than to shew that he had the address to con¬ 
quer so potent a nation in the space of nine or ten j 
years; a nation that had so often struck terror , 
into the Romans, and were thought almost invin- 1 
cible ? Is it likely, that this conqueror would, 
in his Commentaries, affect to conceal that from the 
public, which he took special care to remark in his 
own particular journals ? Some glimpses of this 
truth have reached our times, and we find from 
them that he had been so worsted in battle, as to 

’ Cajpar, Comment, de Bell. Gall. lib. (3. 





CHAP. I. 


OF NATIONS. 


5 


fall into the hands of his enemies, from whom he 
escaped by a very singular providence : but this 
Is not the place to publish these things, nor to make 
any inquiry into them : what I shall now adven¬ 
ture to offer is, that Caesar knew nothing, in a man¬ 
ner, of the antiquity of the Celtae, and still less of 
their origin, and therefore he did wisely to say no¬ 
thing of them. 

If Tacitus had done the same as Caesar, in his 
book of the Germans or Teutones, we should have 
celebrated his memory with our praises, for the cu- 
, rious things he had (aught us, while there are many 
who now ridicule him, and that justly, for having 
said of these people, that they were born, time im¬ 
memorial, in the country they possessed, without 
having deduced their birth or origin from any other 
place ! Perhaps they sprung up like mushrooms, 
or were produced like frogs and grasshoppers ; but 
to say no more of Tacitus, who is otherwise an 
excellent author, let us now assume this principle, 
that it is not from prophane authors, that we are 
to learn, whence those ancient nations came, that 
have peopled the world; two words of Scripture 
give us more light herein, than all their writings 
and histories put together: that is the source of 


6' 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. 1. 


truth and antiquity, and there it is we are to 
search, if wc would discover it; and to it we shall 
quickly have recourse, after we have said something 
concerning the different names given to the Gauls, 
since the origin of these people. 




•/. I 


t 


- *y 

hit: 






CHAP. I* 


OP NATIONS. 


7 


( 


CHAP. II. 


OJ the several Names of the Ancient Gauls, 

CiESAR, who could not forbear saying somewhat 
upon (his occasion, seems, in the beginning of his 
Commentaries, to take upon him to tell us, that 
the people who inhabited Gaul had of themselves 
assumed the name of Celtae, and that the Romans 
gave them that of Gauls ; Qui ipsorum lingua CeU 
tee, nostra Galli appellantur It is very likely that 
great man did not know that these two names were 
deduced from the language of the country, and not 
borrowed from any other : for the word Celtae, as 
well as (hat of Gaul, signified the same thing among 
them, i. e. powerful, valiant, or valorous. Cmsar 
therefore had spoken more correctly, if he had said 
that the Grecians in their writings made use of the 
word CeltcC, which was more ancient, and that the 
Romans took that of Gauls: though at the same 

1 Caes, Cgm. Lib. I. 


THE antiquities 


CHAP. II* 




time we must not forget to observe, that the Greeks^ 
themselves have also given the name of Galatae to 
the Gauls, and it is thus they commonly call them ; 
but this name, which the Greeks have invented, 
and which more particularly belonged to the Gauls 
that settled in Asia Minor, or Galatia, is of a much 
later date than that of Celtae, which is every where 
to be met with in ancient authors. 


But the Celtae, at least a part of them, were 
called Cmibrians and Cimmerians, before they bore 
the other two names above mentioned. The word 
Cimbri is taken from the Latin Cimber, and this 
last derived from Kimber or Kimper, which signi¬ 
fies a warrior in the Celtick tongue: it bears the 
same signification among the Teutonesor Germans: 
and as for Cimmerian, it is w'hat the ancient Gre¬ 
cians, especially the poets, have softened out of 
Cimbri or Cimbrian, as some of them have well ob¬ 
served. But here, by the way, it is necessary to 
take notice, that the name of Cimbrians was in a 
manner given to none other of the Celtae but such 
as anciently were fixed in the northern parts of the 
world. I mean, above the Euxine, and to the 
north of the Danube : it was a colony of these peo¬ 
ple, and a very ancient one too, that gave name to 


CHAP. II. 


or NATIONS. 


9 


the Chcrsonesus, or according to modern pronun¬ 
ciation, the Cimbrick Chersonesus, now the country 
of Jutland, beyond Holstein. 

A vast number of other Celtse falling into Asia 
Minor, who came from Bactriana, and the neigh¬ 
bouring countries, and these people having almost 
at the same time invaded Thrace, Greece, and the 
isle of Crete or Candia, they assumed the name of 
Titans, which became so famed in antiquity, es¬ 
pecially through the fictions of the poets, that 
they very much disguised their glorious exploits. 
Several have been, and still are of opinion, that 
these Titans, so much talked of, ought to be es' 
teemed no otherwise, than as an imaginary and fa¬ 
bulous race of men; but this is an error, from 
which they shall be reclaimed : the real truth is, 
that they were a potent and warlike people, that 
came from the Higher Asia, and performed great 
things in the first ages of the world ; which shall 
hereafter be made to appear by so many proofs 
and authorities, as to leave no room to doubt it: 
and here also may I be permitted to observe, that 
the word Titan is likewise taken from the Celtick 
tongue, and properly signifies, a man of the earth, 


10 


TUE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. II. 


or born of the earth’^. This is so manifest, that thc^ 
word 'IiroLnsy Titanes, among the Greeks, or as the 
more ancient authors write it, T<T«v«y, Titenes, is 
always explained by that of yvtyzmsy or terrigenae, 
as much as to say, born of the earth, or children of 
the earth. As for the rest, these Titans had three 
or four princes successively to head them, who per¬ 
formed such astonishing and prodigious exploits, as 
are scarcely to be credited ; and hence it was that 
they came to be put into the number of the gods, 
even of the greatest coelestial and terrestrial divini¬ 
ties. I shall quickly make these things manifest 
which have hitherto been involved in obscurity, on 
account of their remoteness from us, and intermix¬ 
ture with ridiculous fables. 

Here we are to observe, that the Celtae before 
they had the name of Titans, were called Saces or 
Saques, in Latin Sacae : and it is asserted by some 
that this opprobrious name, which signifies a thief, 
robber, &c. was given to them by the Parthians, 
whom the Celtae had forcibly driven out of their 
country and society, and that these being enraged 
to be thus dispossessed of their territorics,had,by way 


2 T<Tayii and Tirwit, Lat. Titanes, and Terrigince. 


CHAP. II. 


OF NATIONS. 


11 


of revenge, called those Sacae whom they consi¬ 
dered as an unjust and oppressive people, and their 
greatest enemies. The Parthians, who were the 
authors of this name, in process of time taught it to 
the Persians, their descendants, by whose means 
it came to be known to the Grecians, and after¬ 
wards to the Romans : for we may without hesita¬ 
tion say, that the Latins knew nothing of ancient 
nations but what they learnt of the Greeks; and 
these last acquired the knowledge of a great many 
things only from the Persians, as well as the Egyp¬ 
tians, Phoenicians, and some other eastern people. 
The name of Sacae, though in itself opprobrious, 
stuck however to those on whom it was laid, and 
became famous through all Asia, 

'But the most ancient name the Celtae ever bore, 
while they remained in Higher Asia, was that of 
Comarians, or rather Gomarians, by some authors 
called Garaarites. That was their first and true 
name, being that which they had from the earliest 
times of the world, or rather from their very first 
origin ;they took it from Gomer,the eldest son of Ja- 
phet, he being the person whom tliey looked upon 
to be their father and founder. This name^ which 
now appears to be obscure, was not unknown to 


12 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. II. 


the ancient geographers, and we find it famous in 
the provinces of Higher Asia, whence the Celtae, 
of whom we are speaking, had their origin. From 
thence it was that they spread themselves at different 
times into Asia Minor, and so into Greece, Italy, 
and lastly, to the utmost boundaries of Europe, 
w'est and north ; all which we shall hereafter endea* 
vour to make out from history, and the testimony 
ofancientauthors. These, in short, were the different 
names the Celtae had, as well in Asia as in Europe, 
since their establishment in the world. 




CHAP. III. 


OF NATIONS. 


13 


CHAP. HI. 


Of the true Origin of the Celtce^ from Corneri 


» ▼ E have ascended by the Tarious names above 
brought forward, as by so many steps, to the very 
origin of a people that have been so well known in 
all the western parts of the world by the name of 
Gauls and Ccltoe. I have already intimated that 
their first and true name was that of Gomarians, 
which they had from the first ages of the world, as 
being the descendants of Gomer, Japhet’s eldest 
son. In vain it is that some modern authors have 
gloried, and taken much pleasure to find the Gauls 
in this Gomer, now spoken of, the Teutones or 
Germans in Askenez, the Swedes and Danes in 
Magog ; for this is to glory in being deceived, and 
to take a delight to lead the world into error. Go¬ 
mer never came into Gaul, nor Askenez into Ger¬ 
many, and much less did Magog come into Den¬ 
mark and Sweden. These men, who were the foun- 


14 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. Ill* 


dcrsof three potent nations, never went out of Asia, 
and we may say, without fear of being deceived, 
that that part of the world ought to be looked upon 
as the cradle out of which those numerous nations 
came, that in after-ages peopled all Europe : with 
the sole exception of the Greeks and Thracians, 
for they alone were the nations that had two of the 
sons of Japhet for their fathers. It is therefore 
certain that all the nations of Europe, saving these 
two, owe their origin and establishment to the first 
inhabitants of Asia, and especially of that part of 
it that is beyond mount Taurus, towards the north : 
it is in these Asiatick provinces that wc are to find 
out the first descendants of Gomer, and not in Gaul, 
towards the extremities of the west, which was 
not peopled till a long time after. But it is neces¬ 
sary we should remember before we go any farther, 
that those people, whom we call Gauls, are by the 
Greeks usually called Galatae, or Galatians, 

and that the Galatians to whom St, Paul w'rote an 
epistle, were no other than a colony of Gauls that 
went over from Europe, and fixed themselves in the 
territories of Upper Phrygia, about two hundred 
and seventy years before Christ, This being taken 
for granted, and confirmed by the authority of 
historians, it will not be dillicult to find out, whence 


CHAP. III. 


OF NATIONS. 


15 


those Gauls originally came, whom the Greeks call 
Galatians, and are the same as the Celtce. 

Josephus in his first book of the Antiquity of 
the Jews, makes a kind of comment upon the 
tenth chapter of Genesis where Moses sets down 
the fathers and heads of each nation ; and when he 
comes to speak of Gomer, who was the eldest son 
of Japhet, he says directly, and without any he¬ 
sitation, that he was the founder, EKr/a-e. condidity 
of those people anciently called Gomarians, to 
whom the Greeks now give the name of Gauls : 
Tovs yV wv FaXaTar ToiA,apsTs Ss Xtyo» 

Tofjixpls eAt/o-e". GomeruSy he speaks of 
Japhet’s son, populos condidit dictos GomaritoSy 
qui nunc a Greets Galli seu Galatcc apptllantui\ 
It is very plain from the w'ords of this learned Jew¬ 
ish historian, that Gomer was the father and founder 
of the Gomarians or Gomarites, and that these an¬ 
cient people were no other than what the Greeks 
afterwards called Galatians, which was the same as 
Gauls, so that there is no need of contesting this 
matter any farther. Now it is proper to inquire 
where those people were, named Gomarians, of 


’ Gen. c. 10. v. 2. 


2 Joseph, Antiq. Jud, 1. 1. c, 6. 


f 


16 THE ANTIQUITIES CHAP. III. 

whom Josephus speaks. Are they to be found in 
any part of Europe ? No : where then could they 
be, but in Asia? Let us but cast our eyes a little 
upon the books and maps of Ptolemy the famous 
geographer, and survey but for a moment the pro¬ 
vinces of higher Asia, I mean those between Media, 
Lactriana, and the Caspian sea, and there we shall 
easily find the Chomariaus or Comarians, who are 
no other than the Gomarians of Josephus, and whom 
some of the ancients have likewise called Ganiarites, 
which amounts ail to the same thing. The Goma¬ 
rians, therefore, according to Josephus, were the 
Galatians or Gauls: but how could he know a thing 
which even at this day appears to us so obscure and 
dark ? Tt is not at all strange for him to say, that 
Corner was the founder of the Gomarians; the like¬ 
ness of names makes that easily out: but who could 
inform him that the Gauls came from the Gomari- 
'' ans, unless it were the truth of ancient history, or 
the tradition of his fathers, the Hebrews ? It is no 
matter whether it were the one or the other: we 
shall soon see that this learned historian, was not 
wrong in his calculation. 

But, that people may not suppose Josephus to be 
*PtoI.Geog. 1. 6. c. 11, and 13. 


CHAP. III. 


OP NATIONS. 


17 


the only person that assures us Gorner was the fa¬ 
ther of the GaulSj Eustathius of Antioch, in the 
commentary upon the Hexameron was also of this 
opinion ; and here read what he says of Gomcr, 
w liich after the Septuagint he calls Gamer. Gamer, 
says he, was the founder of the Gamarians, whom 
now wc call Galatians or Gauls, rxfxsp bV/i’ Tot[xz-‘ 
qiis rSs vZv ra>.a7ixs awsarviat)) Gomer populos Get- 
viarenses constituity quos nunc Gallos vocamus: 
this is an opinion which St. Jerome has also embrac¬ 
ed without any hesitation ; for he says in his ques¬ 
tions or Hebrew traditions upon Genesis 5, that the 
Galatians, which were the Gauls, were descended 
from Gomer: sunt auttm Gomer, Galaicc: but to 
shew that by the Galatians both he and others: 
mean the Gauls, we need offer no more than 
what St. Isidore, bishop of Seville, says upon 
the subject, in his book concerning the origin of 
them; his words are these filii autem Japhet sep~ 
iem numerantuTy Gomer^ ex quo GalaicBy id esty 
Galli^y i. e. We find that Japhet had seven sonSy 
of zehieh Gomer the eldest was the father of the 
Galatiansy that is to sayy the Gauls, This expli- 


4 Eustat Com. in Hexam. p. 51. 
s Hierom. Trad. Htb. in Gen. 

® Isidor. Orig. 1. 9. c. 2. 

C 


I 


18 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. III. 


cation of St. Isidore, or rather elucidation, brought 
in on purpose to remove the ambiguity of the word 
Galatians, is enough to solve all difficulties upon 
this head. By it therefore is meant the Gauls or 
CeltcC, as appears by the chronicle of Alexandria, 
or otherwise the Paschal chronicle, which says Go¬ 
ner, from whom the Celtae had their origin : 
el « KaXoirot : Gamer a quo Cellos orti sunt. 

This opinion, or rather truth, which was re¬ 
ceived in ancient times, we find likewise confirmed 
by an ancient Jew named Joseph, the son of Go- 
rion, and for that reason called Goronidis, who has 
said somewhat concerning the origin of nations many 
^iges ago, Filii Gomer sunt Franci^ qui habitant 
' in terra Francice adJlumen Seina~: the sons of Go¬ 
mer are the Franks, that dwell towards the Seine 
in France, These are the words of that Jew, and 
it is very evident that by the sons of Gomer he 
means the Gauls, whom he calls Franks, or French 
dwelling near the Seine, in order to distinguish 
them from the Franks in Germany. In short, my 
design in producing all these evidences of truth is 
no other than to shew that Josephus, the Jewish 


f Joseph, Goriond. in Hist, apud Boebavt, 



CHAP, III. 


OF NATIONS, 


19 


historian, had reason on his side in making the 
Gauls to be the descendants of Gomer, and that 
on the contrary a learned author® is in the wrong 
when he reproves him for it, and pretends upon 
weak grounds to make Gomer the father of the 
Phrygians; a thing thatcan in no manner be main¬ 
tained, as f shall shew in another place. 

Now from all these testimonies, and from others 
that do not at present occur to me, there are two 
things that appear to me to be incontestable; the 
first, that Gomer was the chief of the Goma- 
rians, Comarians, or Gamarians, for anciently they 
bore various names; and the other is, that these 
Gomarians afterwards were called Galatians or 
Gauls. 

But that no one may be tempted to say that 
these Gomarians were a people unknown to ancient 
authors, we need no more than to consult the most 
famous geographers upon the subject, such as Dio¬ 
nysius of Alexandria^, or rather Charax, Pompo- 
iiius Mela, Pliny, and add to these the famous 

® Bochart Phaleg. 1. 3. c. 8. 

9 Dionys. Per. v. 700, Mela, I. l.c. 2. Plin. 1, 6. c. 16, Ptol, 
Geog. I. 6. c. 11, &c. 13. 


20 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. Ill# 


Ptolomy. This last author in the sixth book of his 
Geography, calls them Chomarians or ComarianSj 
for he divides them into two people, as well as Me¬ 
la, but in fact they were both of the same origin : 
Ptolomy places the Chomarians in Bactriana, pretly 
near the Oxus, I suppose to the south of that river, 
that is so famous in Upper Asia: he also fixes the 
city of Chomara there, wliich seems to have been 
the capital of these people. As for the Comarians, 
he fixes them towards the most eastern boundaries 
of Sogdiana, not far from the sources of the Jaxar- 
^tes, and in the country of the Sacae, whereas Mela, 
on the contrary, places the Comarians toward 
Sogdiana and Bactriana: and as for the Chamarians 
he puts them a little above the Caspian Sea, towards 
the Massagetae : so that it is clear enough from 
hcuce that both these people came from the same 
stock; that at first they were founded by Corner 
towards the countries of Margiana and Bactriana, 

and that in process of time, they separated one from 
> \ 

the other: that the one continued in Bactriana, 
their ancient habitation, and that the other moved 
towards those countries that lay more to the east, 
beyond the Jaxartes, between the source of that 
river, and mount Imaus, 


CHAP. III. 


OF NATIONS. 




Now, if it happen that there should not still be an 
acquiescence with all these authorities,! hope that of 
the scripture will, at least, not be controverted upon 
the subject. It is plain, according to the history 
of Josephus, that the Gomarians were the descend¬ 
ants of Gomer ; and farther, that these Gomarians, 
according to the ancient geographers, dwelt in the 
northern provinces of higher Asia, so that upon 
the whole, is it not very manifest that it is of these 
people that Ezekiel speaks in the 38th chapter of 
his prophecies? The Lord was pleased to discover 
to this man in an extraordinary vision the terrible 
irruption which should, one day be 'made into the 
land of promise, or country of the Israelites, by a 
people from the north of Asia, and from beyond 
mount Taurus, and amongst these northern people, 
he reckons Gomer and his bands, Gomer universa 
agmina sua": by the word Gomer, according to 
the scripture language, is meant here the Goma¬ 
rians, and by these words universa agmina sua^ 
we are to understand those other people that went 
out from amongst them ; and who being then with 
them, fell together into Palestine : and this is what 
in fact came to pass towards the beginning of the 


Ezek. c, 3. V. 6. 


*' Ib. V. 6. 


f 


22 THE ANTIQUITIES CIIAP. Ill* 

Persian empire, some years after the Jews were re¬ 
turned from the captivity of Babylon : and there¬ 
fore we may see by this passage in the prophet, that 
there were still Goraarians in Upper Asia, (that is, 
descendants of Corner,) in the time of Ezekiel, or 
above five hundred and fifty years before the nati- 
Tity of Christ; and there were also other people, 
who deduced their origin from them, which per¬ 
haps might be the Sacae and Cimmerians, of whom 
we shall speak hereafter. 

But as we live in an age, wherein much more 
regard is had to reason, than authority, we shall 
advance somewhat more upon this head, and shew 
that we do not want a farther confirmation of the 
matter. When Moses speaks of the children of 
Japhet, the son of righteous Noah, he mentions 
seven of them, beginning with Corner, as being the 
first and eldest; then he comes to Magog, and next 
to Madai, the third son. Now it is certain that 
Magog had Scythia, properly so called, for his 
share, that is, Great Tartary, to the north of the 
Jaxartes: Madai likewise was fixed in Media, above 
Persia, for it is generally agreed he was the father 
of the Medes* 


CHAP. HI. 


OF NATIONS. 


33 


Now is there not reason to believe that Corner, 
the eldest brother, had for his share those provinces 
that lay between the partition of the other two, 1 
mean, between Media and Tartary? and these are 
Hircania, Margiana, Bactriana, with the country 
of the Sogdians Strabo, who launches out in the 
praise of them in the second book of his Geogra¬ 
phy, assures us that they are the most agreeable 
and fruitful parts of all Asia, both from their vici¬ 
nity to a vast sea, and their being watered with 
large rivers. Those rich countries were justly al¬ 
lotted to be the share of Comer, Japhet’s eldest son, 
and the first habitations of the Gomariaiis, his de¬ 
scendants, who time immemorial dwelt there, ci¬ 
ther by this name, or that of Sucje. We shall see 
hereafter, and which is a very remarkable circum¬ 
stance, that the name of Japhet, called Japet by 
prophane authors, is not retained in any part of the 
world, nor among any other people than the Titans, 
the descendants of Comer. If all these reasons and 
authorities do not convince some learned men, for I 
know there are some persons who will always start 
difficulties, I know.not what it is that can give 
them contentment. 


'2 Strabo Gcogr. lib, 2* 




24 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. IV. 


CHAP. IV. 


Of ike Gomarians that tcere called Sacce, 

It is necessary that we shoiiltl here observe before 
we proceed any farther, that the ancient inhabit¬ 
ants of Higher Asia, situated above Media, Mount 
Taurus and Caucasus, were all of them from the 
beginning called Scythians. This name was known 
to the most ancient Greeks, though we are not 
from thence to conclude that it had its rise among 
them. There is reason to believe that it had its 
• origin from those northern people, and that the 
Scythians gave themselves this name, because they 
were very expert at shooting arrows, darting their 
javelins, or the like : for some northern nations to 
this day use the word scheien or schuten in that 
sense, and the word schutzy from which came that 
of scythes, signifies an archer among them. 

The true Scythians, who are the inhabitants of 
Great Tartary, are the descendants of Magog, the 



CHAP. ir. . 


or NATIONS. 


25 


second son of Japhet," and consequently Gomer’s 
younger brother ; and hence the Ccitae, who are 
descended from the same Gomer, are, in point of 
antiquity, a degree beyond the Scythians, who are 
the progeny only of his younger brother. Not¬ 
withstanding, however, the Scythians were for¬ 
merly reputed the most ancient nation in the world ; 
which made Justin, after Trogus Pompeiussay, Scy- 
tharum gens antiquissima semper habita and he 
assures us, they transcended even the Egyptians, who 
dispute this prerogative of antiquity with them : su- 
peratis JEgyptiiSy anfiquiores semper vhi Scythce: 
in fact there is nothing more strictly true than this, 
for the Scythians came from Magog, the second son 
of Japhet, whereas the Egyptians were the descen. 
dants of Mesraim, the second son of Cham; and 
consequently the former must have the pre-emi¬ 
nence ; for lastly, Japhet was Cham’s eldest bro¬ 
ther, since he was the first begotten of Noah. This 
is a decisive argument, but such as we could not 
have met with any where, save in the scriptures. 

As the Goraarians, who were no other than the 
descendants of Gomer, as already mentioned, pos- 


• Justin. Hist. I. 2. c. 1. 


26 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. IV. ♦ 


sesscd themselves of the provinces situated to the 1 
north of Media, and Mount Taurus, they have even ? 
from the earliest ages of the world been also com- i 
prehended with other northern nations under the 
name of Scythians. This is so certain, that when 
they passed into Europe, in order to settle in these i 
western parts of the world, as well as they had done 
to the north, and had assumed the name of Celtae, 
the ancient Greeks failed not to call them Celto- 
Scythae; and this we have from the authority of 
Strabo, who says the most ancient Greek authors 
gave the name of Scythians and Celto-Scythians to 
all the people that dwelt in the northern countries : 
veteres Grcecorum scriptores universas gentes^ 
septentrionem vergenies^ Scytharum^ Sj Celto^ 
Scytharum nomine adjecerunt 

The same author, whose exactness is well known 
to scholars, presently adds concerning those peo¬ 
ple that lived beyond the Caspian sea, that they 
were called either Sacae or Massagetae. His words 
are these, irons vero mare Caspium^ alios Sacas^ 
alios Massagetas appellabant^ Tsj /xsy rws 
M«£7(7aysTaj luaXsv *5; this, according to StrabOj is 

2 Strab. Geogr, Lib, 11, Zni/dai Ki)3o<TxvO»i, 

Strab. I b. 



CHAP. tv. 


OF NATIONS. 


27 


what the most ancient Greeks have said of them, 
and that too with a great deal of trutli. It is 'with 
reason that they have written, that the Celtce of 
Europe were called Scythians, and that those peo¬ 
ple who dwelt towards the Caspian Sea, bore the 
name of Sacm ; but after all, these ancient Greek 
authors did not know that the European Celtce 
came from the same Sacae of Higher Asia. This 
is what I shall make out hereafter, but here it may 
be worth while to know whence the word Sacas 
took its origin. 

The Gomarians as we have already said, having, 
"^from the very earliest times possessed themselves of 
the provinces that lie to the east of the Caspian sea, 
and that reach from Media to the river Jaxartes, 
several of them stopped in Margiana, which is a rich 
and fruitful country and its air temperate and de¬ 
lightful. This people in process of time increasing 
to a vast multitude, could not always live in repose 
and tranquillity; the seeds of dissentions and jea¬ 
lousies began to spring up among themselves: 
amidst these factious and domestic commotions, 
those who proved the weakest cither in number or 
strength, were expelled by the other, and forced to 
seek for a retreat in the neighbouring countries ; so 


28 


the antiquities 


CHAP. ir. 


that passing over those vast mountains, which are 
to the south of Margiana, they entered into a 
country then in the possession of the Modes, who 
were known by the name of Arli. Those fugitives 
fixed themselves either by force or consent in this 
country, to which they had made their way, and 
which was surrounded with high mountains: and, 
as they were a people that had been driven out of 
their native country, they w'^ere called Parthians; 
that word signifying persons separated from others, 

exiles, or banished people; and it was from this 

* 

name, which is very ancient, and remains Avith 
them to this day, that that province was called 
Parthia, where these fugitives fixed their habita¬ 
tions. This is the true origin of the Parthians, a 
nation more ancient than that of the Persians, who 
came from them. Trogus Pompeius had given an 
ample account of them in his 41st book of which 
we have but a small abridgment And we find 
what he says confirmed by Arrian in his Parthicis 
, by Stephen of Byzantium, and some others. 

As to the name of Parthians, implying exiles, 

4 Trag. apud. Jus. 1. 41. c. 1. 

5 Arrian in Parthicis apud Pbotium Stephan. V. Parthyeei 
Jornand. de Reb. Getic, c. 6. & alii. 


CHAP. IV. 


OF NATIONS. 


29 


&c. as already mentioned, which was given by the 
Gomarians to those they drove away from among 
them, there is no reason to call that into question, 
seeing parthu to this very day in the Celtick lan¬ 
guage signifies to divide or separate, and that was 
the language ot the Gomarians. But with regard 
to the time of the separation of the Parthians from 
the Gomarians, who dwelt in Margiana, that is so 
very ancient as to precede that of Ninus, and the 
foundation of the famous empire of Assyria; and 
so we may well place it even before the time of 
Abraham himself. It is from these Parthians that 
the Persians, in process of time came, and the an¬ 
cient people of Caramania, as might be shewed by 
many arguments ; and hence we need not be sur¬ 
prised to find even at this dviy such a great number 
of Celtick or Gaulick words in the Persian lan¬ 
guage. These words were conveyed into that lan¬ 
guage by the means of the Persians, who came ori¬ 
ginally from the Gomarians, that gave being to the 
Celtae. We find also in the Persian tongue a great 
many Teutonick or German words, at which the 

learned of these latter times have been not a little 

/ 

surprised, without being able to give any reason 
for it, and that is, because they did not know that 
the same nation, of whom in part the Teutones 


30 THE ANTIQUITIES ^ CHAP. IV,, 

came, had formerly planted the Parthian and Per¬ 
sian colonies: but this is not a proper place to^ 
make a discovery of things, which have been hid- i 
den to the present time : it may perhaps be done inJ 
some other part of this work. Let us now resume i 
the thread of our discourse. ’■ 

These exiles, who, as I have said, had afterwards 
the name of Parthians given them, finding that they 
were expelled their country by a wicked faction, * 
and that they could not take revenge upon theni 
any otherwise than by abusive language, gave the ^ 
name of Sacm to those whom they considered no 
otherwise than their enemies ; and this merely from 
petulance, that word signifying a thief, robber, 
and the like. Perhaps they at first used the 
word Scaca?, which by degrees they softened 
into Sacse : be that however as it may, this nick¬ 
name, which was invented by the Parthians, stuck 
to the Gomarians, who had violently drove them 
out of their possessions. 

We still find the remains of this ancient word in 
that of Sac or Sacager, which is the same thing as 
to commit murder. There is reason to believe, that 
from hence came the name we give to the game of 




CHAP, IV. 


OF NATIONS. 


31 


chess y which in barbarous Latin is called Scaconim 
Ludus, and by the antients Latninculorum Ludus, 
that is, the game of the Scacai or Sacae, or the thiePs 
games; the Italians call it scacchi, which cney 
took from the schack of the Goths, who bore sway 
amongst them a longtime. This famous game came 
therefore originally from those people that dwelt in 
the north of Asia, and hence it has always been 
much in vogue among the northern nations, from 
whom it passed into Parthia and Persia, and in pro¬ 
cess of time came into Europe, 

And here it may be incidentally observed, that 
those who had at first the opprobrious name of 
Sacm given them, were Gomarian Scythians, who 
dwelt, as before mentioned, in Margiana ; and hence 
it is that Herodotus, a very ancient historian, says, 
that they were the Amyrgian Scythians, who were 
first so called, by whom he means the Margian Scy¬ 
thians, the neighbours of the Bactrians. The Per¬ 
sians afterwards, according to the same author, 
gave this name in common to all the other Scythians, 
Persce cunctos Scythos vocant Sacas,^ This agrees 
exactly with what Pliny has in his sixth book ; for 

* Herod. Hist, 1.7. 


32 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. IV. 


this author speaking of the Scythians in general, 
says, that the Persians, or rather Parlhians, who 
are often confounded, gave to all of them the name 
of Sacae, but that the same began with those who 
were their neighbours; his words are these, Ultra 
sunt Scytharum populi: Persw illos Sacas in uni- 
xersuni appellavere^ a proxima gente^^ and what 
Scythian nation was a nearer neighbour to the Par- 
thians than the Margians, who were divided from 
them only by the mountains. They are the people 
whom Herodotus calls Amyrgians. 

And here 1 would impress upon the minds of my 

I 

readers that these Margians or Amyrgians wore 
breeches .according to Herodotus,® and it was from 
them that the Celta?, who afterwards came into the 
West, brought them into Gaul, insomuch, that some 
part of their people there were called Galli Brac- 
cati; to w hich we may add the arms of these Amyr¬ 
gians, set forth by the same historian, which were 
like those borne by the ancient Gauls; and hence we 
may upon the whole find in the Gomarians of Mar- 
giana, the language, arms, habit, with the restless 

7 Plin. Hist. Natur. 1. 6. c. 17. 

* Herodot. Hist. 1. 7. 


CHAP. IV. 


OF NATIONS. 


33 


and warlike nature of our ancient Celtae. Will 
any body then take upon him to deny that they 
came originally from this Asiatic nation ? 

Though the Persians generally gave the name of 
Sacae to all the nations beyond the Medes and Par- 
thians, yet this name in a more particular manner 
adhered to the descendants of Gomer, who lived in 
Upper Asia; and hence when Ptolomy speaks of 
them in his Geography, he shews us plainly that 
there were those among the Sacae, who always w^ent 
by the name of Gomarians : the Sacae, says he, 
who Jive near the Jaxartes, arc the Carates and 
Gomarians the Comarian Sacae, of whom that ce¬ 
lebrated geographer treats, were, properly speaking, 
those people who were called the Nomadan Sacae, 
who dwelt indeed near the Jaxartes, in the vast 
plains'which lie between that river and mount Imaus. 
These people always lead a wandering and savage 
life, and that was the reason why they were called 
Nomadan Sacaj, because they ranged up and down 
the fields in feeding their flocks : it is very likely 
the Cimbrians, Cimmerians, or Celtick people, 

» Ptol. Geog. 1. 6. c, 13. 


D 



1 


34 the antiquities chap, iv, 

came from them, of whom we shall speak here¬ 
after. 

But besides these Sacique Comarians, who were 
a wild and savage people, and lived more to the 
north, there were others that dwelt in Bactriana, 
and upon the confines of Margiana. Ptolomy, to 
distinguish them from others, calls them Chomarians, 
and makes Chomar their capital city These 
were somewhat more civilized than the Nomades, 
because they lived in towns and villages, and hence 
we may suppose that it w-as from them the Titans 
came. In short, these Sacae, of whom we speak, 
have always been a very famous people, and when 
Pliny touches in general upon the Scythian nations, 
that lived in Upper Asia,’^ he docs not fail to place 
the Sacae at the head of them, as being the most re¬ 
nowned of them all; celeberimi eorum Sacce, 

Cyrus, king of Persia, having subdued many na¬ 
tions, and even king Creesus, and the Lydians, me¬ 
ditated a war against the Sacae and Bactrians, as 
the most important and difficult of any other, in 

Ptol. Geooj. 1.6. c. 11. 

'' Plin. Hist. ]. 6,c. 17. 


CTIAP. IT. 


OF NATIONS. 


35 


short, having commenced the same, he was quickly 
defeated and routed by these warlike people; and 
he was not able to accomplish his ends, any other¬ 
wise than by a stratagem, described by Strabo, and 
such a one as did not much suit with the greatness 
of his courage or his victories,’'^ However, the Sacae 
from that time became good friends with the Per¬ 
sians, submitted to their empire, did them great ser¬ 
vices in all their wars, and more especially in that 
•waged by Xerxes in Greece, for when that great 
prince had withdrawn out of Attica, Mardoniiis his 
general, kept the Sacm with him, who were horse¬ 
men, in order to give battle to the Lacedemonians, 
who had confederated with the Athenians against 
them. Herodotus, who describes this enterprise 
very exactly, says truly enough that Mardonius lost 
the day together with his life, near Platea; but he 
also assures us, that of all the barbarians, the Per¬ 
sian foot fought the best, and the Sacique cavalry.*^ 
Strenuissimi ex equitibus Sacce* 

Strabo Ceog. 1. 11. 

Herodot. Circa Medium. 


I 


36 the antiquities chap. v. 


CHAP. V. 


Of the Sacce falling into Armenia, 


These Saca?, of whom we have related these 
rare and singular circumstances, having multiplied 
very much in the provinces of Margiana, Hyrcania 
and BactrUna, took care to find out some other 
places in Asia, where they might plant colonies. 
Ancient authors assure us, that, among other coun¬ 
tries, they fell into Armenia, being allured to it by 
the beauty and fertility of that province. Strabo 
is the author who has transmitted to us an account 
of this irruption of the Sacse, which is also mention¬ 
ed by some others.^ The Sacas, says he, much like 
the Cimmerians, have often made inroads, some¬ 
times into the neighbouring provinces, and at other 
times into those that were remoter from them, for 
they seized upon Bactriana, and made themselves also 


> Strabo, 1. 11, 


CHAP. V. 


OF NATIONS. 


37 


masters of the best part of Armenia, which from them 
had the name of Sacacena, rvs xx* 

TsxTviTxvro yvv, xp/fvy xxi s'nruvvfji.tiv IxvtZv xxrim 

\i7roy r^v Ixxxavivviv : Sacce optimum ArnienicB re- 
gionem occuparunt^ quam nomine siio vocarunt Sa~ 
cacenam. He adds soon after, that they passed 
from Armenia into Cappadocia, and more espe¬ 
cially into that part of it which borders upon the 
Euxine sea. That which Strabo calls Sacacena, 
Isidore of Charax, in his Parthian Stathmas names 
Sacastena, which he says was taken from the Sacae, 
a Scythian nation, that had seized the same. In short, 
Sacastena, properly signifies the country of the Sacae: 
for Stan and Tan in the Ccltick tongue imply a 
region. This word we find in that of Brit-tania, 
for so it should be written, as should Aqui.tania, 
Lusi-tania, and many more after the same manner. 
These three names by the way, signify the country 
of the Brits or Bretons, the country of Waters, and 
the country of the Lusians. The Persians and Par- 
thians, who make use of Stan instead of Tan, as 
you may see in the words Chusistan, Indostan, and 
the like, have head it as well as many others, from 
the Asiatick Sacas: which is still another proof 
that the language of the Sacae or Gomarians was 
the Celtick tongue. 


38 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. V. 


Here we are to observe that the province of 
Armenia was even of old peopled with Syrians or 
Armenians, so that we have no reason to be asto¬ 
nished, that the Armenians anciently had letters, 
language, and even ma nners and customs that were 
similar to those of the Syrians: Armeniorum^ says 
Strabo, Syroram et Arabum Gentes^ to ruv Af/xs- 
y/ft/y i9vo^^ itoa to rm xact rZv multum ha» 

bet cognationisy lingua, vita corporum forma,^ 
He puts the Arabs amongst them, because those 
people did, in the very infancy of time, make them¬ 
selves masters of part of Mesopotamia, a neigh¬ 
bouring country of Armenia, and hence they must 
have a near relation, and much correspondence with 
one another : but it is also necessary here to ob¬ 
serve, that the Phrygians in like manner sent nu¬ 
merous colonies into Armenia, if we believe Hero¬ 
dotus, Armeni Phrygum cultu ornati erant^ utique 
illorum coloni? Their arms were not only like to 
those of the Phrygians, but their language had much 
affinity with it. Armenia says Stephen of Bizan- 
tium, genus duciint ex Phrygia,^ Sf Linguam Phry 
gum intnultis imitantuTTih^a.)fPoKKx <ppvyi^5<Ti, 

2 Strabo 1; 1. Poliaen. Stratag, 1. 4. 

^ Herodot. 1. 7. 

♦ Steph. V. Arm. p, 113. 


V 


CHAP. V. 


OF NATIONS. 


39 


I have not made all these remarks fruitlessly; they 
will hereafter be of use to clear up several things, 
as well in respect to the languages, as to the man¬ 
ners of several nations, which have hitherto lain in 
obscurity : however, by what I have already said, 
it may at least be seen that the Sacae had a powerful 
settlement in the finest part of Armenia. 

* 

* 

Now, seeing the Armenians were in a manner 
looked upon to be the same as the Syrians by rea¬ 
son of the conformity which existed between them 
in their manners and language, we have no need to 
wonder that the Sacas who settled very early amongst 
them, have been called Arameans, which is the 
same as Syrians, by ancient authors. Thus, says 
Pliny, Fersw illos Sacas in universum appellavere^ 
a proxima gente^ antiqui AramceosJ^ But the 
Sacae would not remain quiet in Armenia; they 
made inroads into Syria, and perhaps as far as 
Arabia, as we shall see in another place. Be¬ 
sides, the Sacae were also neighbours to the 

ft 

Chaldeans, who dwelt not only in Sophena, Meso¬ 
potamia, and Upper Assyria, but also in the moun¬ 
tains of Armenia, as I have shewn in my discourse 


s Plin. Hist. 1. 6. e. 17. 


40 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP, v; 


on the Hebrews and Chaldeans, whose true origin 
I have sought into. 

% 

Having gone thus far, we have no cause to won¬ 
der that the Celtick tongue, even at this day, is 
full of Syriack, Chaldee, and Arabick words; and 
thus far I will here observe, that the name Ararat, 
which is used in Scripture, to signify Armenia, and 
hath puzzled M. Bochart and other learned men, 
• and even that of Bar or Baris, proceed from the 
language of the Sacae, which is the Celtick, and I 
shall in another place shew the import of them, as 
well as that of Gord or Gordians, which is given to 
the mountains of Armenia ; by all which proofs it 
will be easy to judge of the antiquity of the nation 
and language of the Celtae, which subsists to this 
day in Bretagne in France, and in Wales. 






CHAP. TI. 


OF NATIONS, 


41 


CHAP. VI. 


Of the Sacce that passed into Cappadocia, 

HOUGH the Gomariaiis, who under the name 

of Sacashad filled MarjEjiana, Hircaniaand Bactriana, 

/• 

made a considerable irruption into the greater Ar¬ 
menia, and settled there a potent colony, from 
whence that country had the name of Sacastena ; 
yet this nation, besides that it was naturally in¬ 
clined to war, was moreover, as it has always been, 
of a roving, uneasy and ambitious nature. And 
therefore the people resolved to make their way yet 
farther, and to enter into the provinces of Western 
Asia, called Asia Minor, in order to which, having 
passed the mountains bordering on Armenia, they 
entered by main force into Cappadocia. Strabo, 
an exact author, and a native of that country, 
speaking of the Sacae says, they passed into Cap¬ 
padocia, and chiefly into that part of it, which ad¬ 
joins to the Euxine, which they call Pontus, or tho 


42 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. VI. 


Pontick province. Kx'TTTTx^okuv^ axi fta:- 

Tuv TTpos Eyff/W. Hs riovriKSS vw KxX5cri Trpori^Bov : 

Sacce usque ad Cappadoces progressi seinl^ eos max- 
ime qui sunt ad mare Euxinum, Sf Pontici nunc ap- 
pellantur} 

Wc have shewn how theSacae, or the descendants ) 
of Goiner, fixed themselves in the territories of the, I 

f 

Greater Armenia; and also how they passed into \ 
Cappadoclajcspecially into the northern parts of that 
country, bordering upon the Euxine sea. There it 
was that they settled a new, buta powerful colony, in 
those provinces which are w atered by theThermodon i 
and the Iris. This is a fact beyond disputation : and 
it will therefore be in vain for any body to attempt 
to contest it: but is it not possible in a thing so 
remote, obscure, and involved in so much antiquity, 
to find out who it was that led this colony hither ? * 
Indeed w’e have met with a small ray of light, which 
not even the length of these obscure ages has been 
able to eclipse, and seems to point out' to us, who 
was the author of this new transmigration, and set¬ 
tlement. 

* Strabo, 1. 11, 


A 




CHAP. VI. 


OF NATIONS. 


43 


The person, who in all appearance was at the 
head of this enterprise, was a prince, named Acmon, 
of whom we meet with but a very obscure account 
in antiquity : however, the great actions of his son, 
but more especially of his grandsons, have made 
him famous ; and he himself is also celebrated for 
some ancient monuments. If we believe Stephen of 
Bizantium, we find this Acmon to be the son of 
Man, or Maneus : Acmon, Manei Filius. 
ra Indeed it is likely that Ac-mon or 

Ach-man,'as perhaps the word might be pronounced 
by the Sacaj, properly signified the son of Man, or 
of the race of man. Be that however, as it will, 
this prince had a brother, whose name was Doeas, 
who accompanied him in this and all his other enter- 
prizes. 

1 am apt to believe, if I may have the freedom to 
make a conjecture, that this Doeas was, as it were, 
the augur or soothsayer to his brother Acmon, who 
consulted him in all his most important designs. 
For it must be observed that the Sacee as well as the 
Celtae, their descendants, took great care to attempt 
nothing of any great moment, till they had first seen 

2 Polyhist apud Step. V. Acmonia. 


44 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. VI. 


and consulted their augurs and diviners, who had 
great authority among them. In short, the word i 
Doeas may naturally enough come from Doue^ or 
Doe^ which even at this day signifies God in the 
Celtick tongue, which the Bretons have for so ma¬ 
ny ages preserved : and so this word might perhaps F 
signify a diviner, augur, or a man that had j 

correspondence with the gods ; for people in those ] 
times entertained a wrong opinion of them ; that j 
the gods had much respect for them, that they made | 
them the depositories of their secrets, and the inter- , 
preters of their will. As for what I have said of 
Doeas, that he was the brother of Acmon, I have 
the testimony of Phericydes for it, as cited by the 
Scholiast of Apollonius, and which we find con¬ 
firmed by Stephen of Bizantium, who had read the 
best authors of ancient times.^ The name of these 
two men, which were almost unknown to the Gre¬ 
cians, were yet famous in Pontick Cappadocia ; for 
they had a very ancient city there, called Acmonia, 
derived from the name of Acmon, with a grove 
consecrated to him, as to a god or hero. Besides, 

3 Phericid. apud Scholiast. Apollon. I. 2. Steph. ex. Phere- 
cyd. V. Acmonia. 



CHAP. VI. 


OF NATIONS. 


45 


we learn from the Argonauts of Apollonius/ and 
some other authors, thatit was near the river Ther- 
modon ; and not far from Themiscyra there were 
vast plains, that went by the name of Doeas. As 
for Themiscyra, it was a city that had taken its 
name from Themis, who was the daughter, or ra¬ 
ther grand-daughter of Acmon ; for Thamis-ker, or 
Themis-ker, still signifies the city of Themis, in 
the Celtick language : and the word Kir, or Ker, 
a city, the Celta^, with many more, took from the 
Hebrews. It is this Themis, by the way, that the 
ignorant and superstitious Greeks have made to be 
the goddess of justice; whereas she was no other 
than a famous female magician, or Heathen pro¬ 
phetess, who spoke the truth without flattery, and 
whom they had set up to administer justice; a thing 
very common among the Scythians. I think now, 
after the producing of so many evidences, there is 
no room to doubt, but that theSacm settled in Cap¬ 
padocia, as Strabo assures us, and there is no need 
to say, that Acmon was merely a fictitious and 
imaginary man; but we have not done with 
this hero ; we shall meet with other occasions to 
speak of him. 


* Apol,1.3. Argonaut. V. 373. and 990. 


45 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. VI. 


CHAP. VII. 


That the Cimbri and the Cimmerii zeere the Celtce 
that dwelt in the Northern Parts, 


Whit jE this prince undisturbedly enjoyed his 
fine conquests in Cappadocia, we shall say a word or 
two concerning the Cimbrians, who were better 
known to the Greeks by the name of Cimmerians. 

It must therefore be remembered that the Cimbrians 
were the true descendants of Gomer, and conse¬ 
quently of the Gomarians: I have clearly enough 
proved that these last were called Sacae, while fl 
they continued in Upper Asia, and I have shewn 
that there were two sorts of them, viz. the more 
civilized Sacae, who coalesced into societies in Bac- 
triana and the adjacent countries, and the wander¬ 
ing and wild Sacae, who were known by the name 
of Nomades. 


But these Sacae, called Nomades, who dwelt 
about the source or spring of the Jaxartes, and not 


CHAP. VIT, 


OP NATIONS, 


47 


far from mount Imans, impelled perhaps by the ex¬ 
ample of the other Saca3, who had fallen into Ar¬ 
menia and Cappadocia, made great incursions to¬ 
wards the north part of Asia, and even of Europe ; 
and as they were in quest of some proper place 
wherein to fix themselves, they took a resolution, 
after so many rovings and inroads, to settle above 
the Euxine sea, towards the Palus Maeotidis. There 
it was, in all probability, that they changed their 
name, and assumed that of Cimbrians or Cimme¬ 
rians, in Latin Cimbri, which properly signifies war¬ 
riors, or rather men of war, as I have elsewhere 
observed: but the Greeks, especially the poets, 
whose business it was to soften these barbarous 
names, gave them that of Cimmerians. Being thus 
settled about the Pains Mseotidis, and having fixed 
their habitations, they communicated their name to 
that famous streight, which has since been called 
the Cimbrian or Cimmerian Bosphorus. 

If any one should doubt what I here olfer, let 
them look into the ancient authors, such as Possi- 
donius, Diodorus Siculus, Strabo, Plutarch, and 
the like, for their better satisfaction. * Strabo who 

J Possidon apuci Strabon. 1. 7. Diodor, in Bibliot. Plutarch, 
in Mario. Steph. V. 


48 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. VII. 


quotes Possidonius, believes with good reason, 
that this author made no ill conjecture, when he 
said, that the Cimbrians were great rovers, and that 
they loved plunder; that they carried their arms as 
far as the Palus Maeotidis, and that the Cimme« 
rian, that is, Cimbrian Bosphorus was called af¬ 
ter their name. Possidonius adds, ^ that the 
Greeks gave the Cimbrians the name of Cimme¬ 
rian ; Cimhros Grwei Cimmerios appellavere. We 
may be confident, and that upon very good grounds, 
that this colony of the Cimbrians, or rather No- 
madan Sacae, was very ancient, since it preceded 
the time of Inachus, who reigned in Greece about 
2000 years before the nativity of our Saviour. 
Further, I have met with some ancient fragments, 
which may be produced elsewhere, wherein the 
Cimmerians acknowledge themselves to have been 
originally shepherds, descended from those Scy¬ 
thians, called Sacae; that they formerly dwelt in 
Asia, and that from thence the Nomades, who were 
such lovers of justice, had sent them out to plant 
this colony. These Cimbrians, the offspring of the 
Asialick Sacae were without dispute the true Celtae, 
as those historians, who have written about them, 
sufficiently intimate : and though they do not say it 


^ Possidon, apud Strabo, 1. 7. 


CHAP. vir. 


OF NATIONS. 


49 


explicitly, it is easy to discern it, as well by their 
own name, as by scYcral other words that are still 
extant of their ancient language: the Danes may 
boast, that they are the progeny of these Cimbri, 
at least in part, for their other origin is Teutonic or 
German ; and hence it is that we meet to this day 
with a great many Celtick or Gaulish words in the 
Danish language. It is very probable that an ancient 
colony of these Cimbri from the Pains Maeotidis, 
came and gave name to the Cimbrick Chersonesus, 
now called Jutland, and subject to the Danes. But 
now let us leave the Cimbrians or Nomadan Sacac, 
of whom enough has been said, and return to the 
other Sacae, which settled in the territories of Pon- 
tick Cappadocia. 


c 




50 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. Till* 


CHAP. VIII. 


That the Sacce zeent into Phrygia^ and afterwards 
^ assumed the name of Titans, 

The reader will remember, that before I began 
my discourse on the Cimmerians, I left Acmon and 
his brother Doeas in Cappadocia with the Saca?, 
whom he had settled near the Thermodon : but the 
warlike humour of that prince, excited, if I may 
venture to say it, by his ambition, would not let 
him rest quiet there; to say nothing of the riches 
and fruitfulness of the neighbouring provinces, 
which were powerful motives to a people that loved 
to make new incursions, and frequently to change 
their habitation. Acmon, therefore, and his brother 
having passed the river Halls, made his way into 
the greater Phrygia ; the ancient monuments of this 
province afford us a more certain testimony of this 
truth, than all histories could do. 


CHAP. YlII. 


OF NATIONS. 


61 


lie built a city there, which for a long time pre¬ 
served his name, and has transmitted it to poste¬ 
rity. Let us hear what Stephen of Byzantium says 
in a few words upon this occasion. Acmonia* is a 
city of Phrygia, which is mentioned by Alexander 
I’olyhisfor, in the third book of a treatise concern¬ 
ing this province. It is Acmon, the son of Manius, 
who was considered as the founder of it. Condidisse 
ferunt Acmonem, This city is famed in antiquity. 
Cicero speaking of it, calls it Acmona and what 
is still more, we find it noted in Ptolemy’s Geogra¬ 
phy, and the medals of some Roman emperors.^ 
Acmon then having entered into Phrygia, and made 
himself master of it, they did not fail here any more 
than in Cappadocia, to consecrate woods and groves 
to him : and there are still plains in that country, 
called Docantes,^ from his brother Doeas’s name, 
who accompanied him in this expedition. 

Here it must be remembered, that I have con¬ 
ducted the Gomarians, under the name of Sacae, 
from the neighbouring countries of Bactriana, as 
far as Armenia, and from hence we have seen them 

* Stephan. V. Acmonia. 

2 Cic. Orat. pro Placco. 

3 Ptolem. Geogr. I. 5. c. 2. Numis. Iniper, 

* Streph. V. Doeantes. 

E ^ 


52 


THE antiquities 


CHAP. Till* 


pass into those parts of Cappadocia, bordering 
upon the Euxine sea: Strabo, who is always very 
accurate in what ho relates, says also that they came 
so far. Trpo^XOoy. SctCCB USQU6 

ad Cappadoces progressi sunt.^ But as if this fa¬ 
mous nation were all on a sudden lost, he says no 
more of it under that name, and we can hardly 
know what became of it And therefore we are 
here to make a discovery of what has lain concealed 
from ancient historians, and to bring to light those 
great and important things, which they seem to 
have been ignorant of. 

After the Sacae had entered into Upper Phrygia, 
as if they had gone into another world, they chang¬ 
ed their ancient name, which perhaps they abomi¬ 
nated, into that of Titans. I never could com¬ 
prehend whether it were through some mystery or 
other, or a mere caprice, that they affe cted this name ; 
or whether they might thereby make themselves more 
formidable to the people, against whom they de¬ 
signed to wage war: this is certain, that under this 
famous name they performed such wondrous and 
astonishing things, as can scarcely be esteemed 
otherwise than fabulous : however, they were radi- 


a Strabo Geog. 1, 11. 










CHAP. VIII. 


OF NATIONS. 


53 


cally true enough, though we must own they were 
interlaced with many fictions; and this will appear 
by what follows. 

Acmon, of whom we have already spoken, must 
have performed very great things in Asia, or else 
the Titans, who were his subjects, must have been 
horribly superstitious, to go so far as to give him 
the appellation of most high: for in short, the fa¬ 
mous Sanchoniathon, who is so much esteemed for 
his antiquity, and who wrote, as it is believed, the 
history of Phoenicia, before the Trojan war, plainly 
intimates that this prince was stiled most high^ Elion 
in the Phoenician tongue, and in the Greek 
altissimus^: it is true, he does not name Acmon, 
as the Greeks do, after the Titans: but hc^ives us 
plainly to understand he must be the person, when 
he says that this Elion was the father of Uranus, 
which the Greeks call Heaven: and herein this 
Phoenician author is not mistaken, as we shall see 
presently ; he likewise makes him to be of the race 
of the Titans, whom he otherwise calls Aletes, 
which in Greek implies great rovers; and this name 
has been justly given to this Celtick people. 


® Sanchon. apudEuseb. Frae, Evang. 1. i. c, 10. 


54 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. Till* 


Sanchonialhon goes a little farther, and says that 
this most high, being slain in hunting by an 

OYcrforwardncss in encountering wild beasts Ik 
( 3oX^s Oyjpi'uv rtXzvrrxTxs^ cum ferarum congrcssionc 
pcriissety was by his people reckoned among the 
number of the gods, and his children offered sacri¬ 
fices and oblations to him, quern libationibus 4’ 
crijiciis liberi coluere: and this is manifest from 
what the Greeks say, that they consecrated woods 
and groves to him in Phrygia, as well as in Cappa¬ 
docia. If this be true, as there is scarcely any room 
to doubt it, we have here without controversy 
one of the most ancient heathen deities all antiquity 
can afford us, for he must precede the time of Abra¬ 
ham, and that of Belus, king of Assyria and Ba¬ 
bylon. 

But before we carry this matter any farther, it 
will not be improper to observe, that the Titanes, 
and especially the princes who commanded them, 
exceeded all others both in bulk and strength of 
body; and hence it is that they have been looked 
upon to be terrible people, and as it were giants. 
The scripture itself, the rule of truth, even gives 
such an idea as this of those famous and potent men, 
who according to it, ruled over all the earth. Ju- 


CHAP. Tiir. 


OP NATIONS, 


55 


dith speaking of them in her fine song, calls them 
giants, the sons of the Titans. And the prophet 
Isaiah informs us also, that these giants were an¬ 
ciently masters of the world, vlyxvrss h a^^xvrss rvs 
yvf; gigantes qui terras dominati simt^ and he says 
they drove the kings of the nations from their 
thrones: the Titans, therefore, were not a fabulous 
and an imaginary race of men, though the Greeks 
disguised the history of them with fables; but they 
-were a potent people and great soldiers, descended 
from the giants who made so much noise all over 
the world. 

Besides all this, we are to add, that they were 
much addicted to magic, auguries, divinations, sa- 
tanical delusions and inchantments; and the great¬ 
est persons among them, viz. the priests, sacrificers, 
kings themselves, and princes of the blood, were 
the most inclined to these prophane and diabolical 
curiosities. Then it was that the devil, who is call¬ 
ed the prince of the world, seduced almost the whole 
earth, keeping the hearts and minds of men in 
bondage. This wretched dominion lasted too long, 
and was not destroyed but by the power and cross 
of Christ. Hence one of the fathers of the church, ® 

7 Judith, 1. 6. V. 6, & 7. & iilii Titan, in Gr, wol nrwuu 

8 Euseb, Prep. 1.2. c, 5* 


56 THE ANTIQUITIES CHAP. VIII* 

w 

who had narrowly inspected into these things, had 
reason to say, that in these unhappy times they 
placed giants, tyrants, magicians, and enchanters 
in the number of their kings, and afterwards of 
their gods. 





CHAP. IX, 


OF NATIONS, 


57 


CHAP. IX. 


That Uranus^ Prince of the Titans^ succeeded his 

father Acmon. 

I HAVE now made it sufficiently evident from the 
testimony of Sanchoniathon, that the person whom 
they stiled most high, and who was no other than 
prince Acmon, died a violent death by an intem¬ 
perate eagerness in encountering wild beasts. The 
same author also informs us, that Uranus succeeded 
his father in his dominions; his words are rviv t» 
•ffxrpos patris principatum Si imperium. This 

is enough to let us know that Acmon, though he 
does not name him, was the true father of Uranus, 
that is, of him to whom the Greeks, and after them 
the Romans, gave the name of Heaven. But as 
there may be some so hard to be pleased, that they 
will still quarrel and contest this truth, which our 
Phoenician author has not unravelled, it will be ne¬ 
cessary to put it in its true light, and to support 
it with more authorities. 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. IX, 


5S 


When Phorniitus speaks of Uranus in his book de 
Natura Deorum^' he says, some of the poets wrote, 
that Uranus was the son of Acmon : and thus also 
we see that Simias of Rhodes, an ancient and famous 
author, in his book dc Alis, gives Uranus the name 
of Acmonides, as being the son of Acmon, according 
to the scholiast, who thus explains the matter, Aik- 
fAoy/^av, Xsyu rov apaevov, Acmontdam dicit Uranum ; but 
without mentioning some others, who are also of 
this opinion, Hesychius, an accurate and learned 
grammarian, in explaining this word Acmonides, 
says it signifies Uranus ; for as much as that this per¬ 
son was the son of Acmon; ’'Ax//,oy®u yS’ ntods ; qaia 
Acmonis fdius I cannot think, after these testimo¬ 
nies, that any will dispute a thing that is confirmed 
by a train of so many good authors: and I have 
been the more ready to convince them, that none 
might have room to suppose that I have invented 
things which were not known to the ancients. 


It is therefore certain that Acmon, whom some 
monuments have made famous in Phrygia and Cap¬ 
padocia, was the father of Uranus: and upon this 
ground it is, that he ought to be considered as the 

^ Phornut. 1. de Nat. Deor. c. 1. 

2 Hesych. V."Ax/M,oy/5y)y, 


CHAP. IX. 


OF NATIONS. 


59 


first and true stock of those who have passed for 
the greatest and most ancient gods of the Heathen 
w orld. In reality they were no other than mortal 
men, and even men that were guilty of horrible ir¬ 
regularities, amidst all their power and authority : 
for who has not heard of the shameful disorders, 
both of Saturn, who w as the son of Uranus, and of 
Jupiter, whom they revered as his grandson ? Lol 
these were the great deities of Athens and Rome ; 
these the omnipotent and sovereign gods of the 
Greeks and Romans : such was the blindness of 
mankind in those ignorant and obscure ages of the 
world. 

But to return to Uranus: the famous Sanchoni- 
athon assures us, that he succeeded his father after 

f 

' his decease, and married his own sister, xytrai nrfls 
i (x^tK(pyiv f^'y, mutrimonio sibi conjunxit som 

I rorem Terrain : this Phenician author, the remains 
I of whose works are translated into Greek,' had rea- 
t son enough for his saying he married his own sister, 
t and that she was called Terra; for her true name, 

‘ which the Grecians have happily preserved for us, 
I was Titea, in Latin Titaea. But this word, 

which signifies earth or earthly, is also taken from. 


I 



60 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. IX. 


the Celtick language: for tit among them signi- 
fled earth, as well as among the Hebrews ; and here 
let me observe that the ancient name of the city of 
Paris was not Lutetia, from the word Luturo, clay 
j or mire. This is to dishonour an ancient city, to give 
; it such an origin, which is rather Latin than Gaul- 
j ish ; but the true name was Leuco-titia, which sig- 
I nifies white earth, because it was built of plaster, 

( which is still to be found in the neighbourhood of 
it. But here I must note, that as Titea in the Cel- 
tick language signifies earth, so Uran and Uren is 
as much as to say, a man of heaven ; for in this lan¬ 
guage Ur is a man,from whence came the Latin word 
Vir, and En even at this very day signifies heaven : 
and what is singular is, that the Grecians called the 
-heavens, ovparoi from this prince’s name, as Sanchoni- 
athon has very well observed. 

Besides it is not without reason that this prince 
of the Titans has been called Uranus, a man of 
heaven ; for ancient historians inform us, that he 
was given to the study of astronomy, and to know 
the nature, influences, revolutions, and the several 
motions of the stars ; that he had, by the help of 
this science, as well as by that of augury and divina- 












CHAP. IX. 


OF NATIONS. 


61 


tion, foretold strange surprising events to his peo¬ 
ple ; and as they were much taken up in admiration 
and astonishment, they looked upon him to be a 
heavenly man, who in some sort participated of the 
nature of the gods. But though this prince might 
be learned this way, it may be said of him, he was 
no less ambitious in his nature, and it was this no¬ 
ble ardour of mind which formed the heroes of old, 
and that made them undertake great enterprizes : 
for we find by history, that he was hence instigated 
to enlarge tlie bounds of his dominions, which were 
yet confined within Phrygia, and some other pro¬ 
vinces of Asia Minor. 

With this design he passed the Bosphorus, and 
carried his arms into Thrace and Greece, and even 
penetrated into the isle of Crete, now called Can- 
dia. The government of this he conferred upon 
one of his brothers, who had ten sons, whom they 
called CuretesA But not being satisfied with these 
conquests, he fell furiously upon the other pro¬ 
vinces of Europe, and carried all before him even 
to the' utmost boundaries of Spain ; nay, if we be¬ 
lieve Diodorus Siculus, he penetrated into those 


3 Diodor, Sic, Hist, 1.3. post med. 


f 

« ^ 

62 THE A^fTIQUlTIES CHAP. It* 

parts of Africa, that border upon the Atlantick 
ocean ; and which have since been called Mauritania, 
And as if all this were not enough to satiate his am¬ 
bition, he made inroads into the northern provinces, 
which he brought under his dominion, as well as 
the other parts of Europe, which lie to the south ; 
so that it is no wonder that the people bordering on 
the Atlantick, whose history Diodorus gives us, 
say that Uranus was their prirtcc, and ruled over 
them, and alRrm that this hero reduced a great part 
of the world under his empire, and especially of 
those countries that lay to the west and north : be¬ 
sides which, Sanchoniathon makes it manifest 
enough to us, that his father and he were masters 
of Syria and Phoenicia.'* 

All these things being considered, it was not 
without reason that Isaiah said of old, that the an¬ 
cient giants governed the earth : Gigantes^ qui ter-- 
t(E dominati sunt,’'A^^<xv%srv^y^s:^ and that they 
drove the kings of the nations from their thrones* 
They are these same giants, whom Judith calls the 
Sons of the Titans : they are very often in Scrip- 

* Sanchon. apnd Euseb. 1. l.c, 10. 

^ Isaiah 14. 9, & 70. 



GHAP. IX, 


OF NATIONS. 


63 


ture, and especially in the Septuagint version, term* 
ed rly^vrEr, the giants, T/ravi??, the Titans; 
earth horn, or children of the earth and I am 
strangely mistaken, if they were not these giants, 
and these Titans with their race that were meant by 
the Hebrew word Rephatm, from the singular Ra- 
pha ; which signifies hale, robust, strong and po¬ 
tent, as the Titans were : perhaps there may be 
more than a bare conjecture in it; but we cannot 
stay to discuss it in this place. I shall only say, in 
reference to these giants and Titans, that they were 
called the sons of the earth, or rather assumed it 
themselves, with no other design than to make the 
people fear and reverence them, by concealing their 
true descent. For as an ancient author very well 
observes, so great was the simplicity of the people 
of old, that they called strangers that came among 
them, whom they did not know, nor from whence ' 
they came, the sons of heaven, and the sons of 
earth.'^ And this made Tertullian say, as he was 
controverting the divinity of Saturn, that he was 
one of these Titan princes.® The words are re« 


® Jiul. c. 16. 6, & 7. 

^ Acret. de Orig. gent. Rom. 
* Tcrtull. Apologet. c. 10. 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. IX. 


64 

markable; all historians, says he, and ancient au¬ 
thors, have spoken of Saturn no otherwise than as 
he was a man : ‘ If then he was a man, he was be- 
‘ got by another man: you cannot then say, (he 
‘ speaks to the heathens) that he was the son of the 
‘ heavens, and of the earth, ’tis an error that arises, 
< from his original not being known ; and because 
‘ it was not known of what family he came, it was 
‘ an easy matter to entertain such an opinion, that 
‘ the heaven and the earth were his parents, which 
‘ might justly enough be called the parents of all 
‘ mankind.’ This great man says a little further, 
the common people call those the children of the 
earth, whose origin is uncertain; quorum genus 
incertuin est. This was also the opinion of Minu- 
cius Felix, Lanctantius, and several others. 

Tertullian had undoubtedly reason for what he 
said ; but as all ancient traditions made Saturn to 
be the son of heaven and earth, the heathens could 
not but believe it. Their error, therefore, had some 
grounds for it, which indeed was no other than the 
cunning and policy of the first Titans, who gave 
the name of Uranus or Heaven to the father of 
Saturn, as they gave that of Titaea to his mother, 
which signified earth. This is that mystery, which 


AP. IX. 


OF NATIONS. 


65 




cn 


neither the^ncient Grecians nor Romans qould un¬ 
ravel,and which indeed could not be effected without 
the help of the Celtick tongue, which was the lan¬ 
guage of the Titans, and without that of ancient 
history. 


4 









66 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP, X. 


CHAP. X. 



/ 

That Saturn^ the Son of Uranus^ was the first 
King of (he Titans. 


ALL the ancient historians that have written of 
Saturn, called Cronos by the Greeks, agree with 
the poets, that he was the son of Uranus : Hesiod 
in his Theognis, Apollodorus in his history enti¬ 
tled Bibliotheca, and some others after them, say, 
he was the youngest of all his sons; and therefore 
the same Apollodorus speaking of him, calls him 
Ntwrarov aVavrwv, Novissimum omnium Saturnum} 
But Sanchoniathon^ is not wholly of this opinion ; 
for that historian calls Saturn "lA©-, which was the 
name the Phoenicians gave to him, and is the same 
as e/among the Hebrews, which signifies strong and 
valiant: this prince was of a fierce and lively tern- 


’ Apol. 1. 1. c. 1. 

* Sanchon. apud. Eus. 1. 1, c. 10. 


CHAP. X. 


OF NATIONS. 


67 


per,but at the same time cunning, and full of subtilty, 
asHesioddescribeshim in hisTheognis,wherein he calls 
him Ay)iv\o[jAry)s y.xt os/vorar©- vxt^uv) Vufar 8^ acerri- 

m 

7nus inter libero7^\[Q means of the children of Ura¬ 
nus. It seems as if there were nothing but truth in 
the idea these ancient poets give us of Saturn : for it 
was his cunning and artifice, as well as the pernici¬ 
ous advice of his mother Title, whose jealousy 
transported her beyond all just bounds, that 
put him upon rebelling against his father, seiz¬ 
ing several of his provinces, and depriving him 
of a great part of his power. It was by the 
same- artifices that he gained the affection of some 
of his sisters, and especially of Rhea, a cunning 
and daring lady, whom his father had sent, by 
dark and secret means, to destroy him. Lastly, 
it was by the same subtilty and management, that 
he way-laid his father, who usually resided in 
maritime countries, and after many years contest 
and civil wars got him into his power. This con¬ 
finement of Uranus by his own son affected him so 
much, that he died of grief; for we had better in¬ 
cline to this opinion, than fall in with that of some 
historians, who say he died a violent death. But 
be that as it may, Saturn thought himself sole mas¬ 
ter of all the provinces in Asia and Europe, tliat 

F 2 


68 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. X. 


Trere under his falher^s dominions, which reached 
even to the utmost boundaries of Spain. But he 
found his brothers resolved to contest this right 
with him, and especially the eldest, whom they cal¬ 
led Titan. 

The empire being in this manner threatened with a 
cruel civil war, through the ambition of these princes, 
and some others that coalesced with them, right and 
justice seemed to have been on the side of the el¬ 
dest brother; but Saturn, the youngest of all, ba¬ 
lanced him with power in conjunction with the in¬ 
trigues and cabals of the women of the court. For 
his mother Titea, and his sister Rhea, who was also 
his wife, heartily espoused his interest, and their 
reputation fixed him steadily in the favour of the 
grandees and the people, so that the eldest brother 
was obliged to quit his right to the youngest upon 
certain conditions, stipulated between them. 

Saturn having thus by his intrigues and manage¬ 
ment prevailed over the rest, and not being content 
with the bare quality of chief or prince, than which 
• his predecessors assumed no other, he would become 
a sovereign ; and therefore taking upon him a crown 
or diadem, he was the first of the Titan princes, 


CHAP. X. 


OF NATIONS. 


6Si 

that took the title of king. TertuIIian says this 
plainly enough in his book De Corona, upon the 
authority of Pherecydes: Saturnus Pherecydes ante 
omnes refert coronutum? This is confirmed also 
by Ennius, or rather Evemerus, whose history the 
other had only translated; This ancient author 
says, that Uranus had no more than the title of 
a prince, Princiftatum habuit non 7'egnum but 
that Saturn having heaped up vast riches, took the 
name and quality of king : Posiea Saturnus ma» 
jores sibi opes comparaverit^ ac regium nomen ascu 
verii. This wealth, which he took care to heap 
up and of which he appeared somewhat too eager, 
has in some measure blasted his memory, he being 
looked upon as a covetous prince.^ 

But since we have quoted TertuIIian upon the 
' account of Saturn, there is one thing to be learnt 
from him, which I have met with no where else; 
and that is, that the Titan kings took delight in 
wearing a scarlet robe, or, perhaps, a jacket or 
coat of arms of this colour : Galitici ruborisy says 
he, superjectio Saturnum commendat^ This learn- 

» Tertull. de Coron. 17. 

4 Ennius apud Lact. 1. 1. c. 13. 

* Diodor, 1. 3. Epiphan. in Ancor. c. 103. 

. ‘ Tert. lib. de Pallioj v, 4. & libt de Teslim, Animee. 


I 


70 THE ANTIQUITIES CHAP. X. 

ed person justly denominated sc,?Lr\ciGalitici rub oris y 
or red of Galatia. For, besides that Saturn reign¬ 
ed in Phrygia, part of which was afterwards called 
Galatia from the Gauls or Galatians that settled 
there, it is to be observed that there was no finer 
scarlet made any where than in this province. Again, 
the word scarlet came from the Gaulish language ; 
and it is very remarkable, that both the Greek and 
Latin words for this colour are deduced from the 
same language, though like many similar deriva¬ 
tions it hath never been observed. I might say the 
same thing concerning Saturn, but that I shall re¬ 
serve for another work, which I design to entitle 
the Origin of Nations ; of which this is but a sum¬ 
mary. 

I shall only say here, and it is what seems plain¬ 
ly to occur to me from monuments of antiquity, 
which cannot be suspected to be fallacious, that 
his dominion reached from Syria and Phoenicia to 
Spain, ii e. the utmost boundaries of Europe on 
that side, and that he was also master of Mauri** 
tania in Africa : a vast empire indeed, which became 
also subject to Jupiter his son and successor. I 
shall in another place explain what is said of him 
that he devoured his own children j which is a po- 


CHAP, X. 


OF NATIONS* 


71 


etical fiction, and fabulous history, that is however 
not without some ground. But what is affirmed con¬ 
cerning this prince’s marrying his own sister, is no 
story, since his father and his sons after him did 
the same, the reason of which we shall also give 
hereafter. 

This whole relation, wherein there are odd and 
singular things enough, would be obscure and im¬ 
perfect, if we should not in this place take notice 
of those brothers and sisters of Saturn, that were 
most remarkable : I find Titan, who was also sup¬ 
posed to be the eldest, was one of them, as Hype¬ 
rion and Japet were two more, besides some others, 
which I shall not name. As for his sisters, Rhea 
was the most famous, whom he took to be his wdfe; 
and Themis the famous prophetess, of whom I have 
already spoken. The sons of Japet, and conse¬ 
quently Saturn’s nephews, were Atlas, Prometheus 
and Menaecus, or Menoetius. This Atlas, who was 
cousin-german to Jupiter, had Mauritania for his 
share, and he was the person that has left his name 
to those famous mountains of Africa: and here let 
it be observed, that in all antiquity we do not meet 
with the name of Japet or Japhet, (which is the 
same,) any where but amongst the Titan race ; they 


72 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. X, 


vere the only people of all the worldjthat took care 
to preserve this venerable name, because of their de¬ 
scent from Gomer, the eldest son of this patriarch : 
and this confirms what Josephus says in his Antiqui¬ 
ties, wherehe assures us that Gomer was the progenitor 
of the Gauls, whom the Greeks called Galatians,’^ 

Notwithstanding all that I have said concerning 
Saturn, it yet seems insufficient unless I add some¬ 
what concerning the two different names he had. 
The Greeks called him no otherwise than Cronos or 
Tfoy®- in their language; but he is always called 
Saturn by the Romans, which in fact is the same 
name that he had among the Titans, who called him 
Sadorn, i. e. martial, warlike; and we find even 
to this very day in the Celtick or Breton language, 
whichds the same as that of the Titans, that di sa^ 
dome is Saturday; from which the Romans made 
dies saturni, as of di lun^ di mers^ &c. they made 
Dies Lunca, Monday; Dies Martisy Tuesday, and 
so of the rest of the planets, the Latin words for 
all which are certainly taken from the Celtick 
tongue, as I shall shew in another place. This being 
so, it is mere folly to derive the name of Saturn 
from the Hebrew Saiury to hide, as if Saturn had 


f Joseph, Antiq. 1, 1. c. 6, 


CHAl». X, 


OF NATIONS. 


73 


not had his name before he fled for security into 
Latium or Italy, which did not happen till towards 
the latter end of his days. As to Kpov©-, the name 
gi?en him by the Grecians, it is certain they advance 
nothing but trifles concerning it. 

This name in all appearance was taken from the 
Phrygians, from whom the Greeks, according to 
the confession even of Plato, borrowed many words: 
wherefore seems to come from Kroone, which 

signifies crow'ned : because Saturn was the first of 
the Titan princes that wore a crown ; and it was 
in Phrygia that he kept his court, where perhaps 
he first took the dignity on him ; and so there is no 
cause of wonder that the Phrygians should give him 
this name, from whom it was transmitted to the 
Grecians. It is known that Rhea was both wife 
and sister to Saturn, which is a thing wondered at 
in modern times and justly too. But we shall 
shew in another place the reason of this custom, 
which was also used by the Persians, Egyptians, 
Carians, and some other nations ; Rhea in Celtick 
signifies a lady, as Rhy does a lord. It is to be re¬ 
gretted that the Greeks and Romans can give no 
better etymologies of these names of their pretended 
deities, which are all false, and have, if I may 


74 


THE antiquities 


CHAP. X, 


SO say, neither rhime nor reason in them. All 
these names come from the language of the Titans, 
^vhich was no other than that of the Celtje ; and 
whoever is not acquainted with this language, 
which still exists in some parts of France and Bri¬ 
tain, will make nothing of it but conjecture,and wan¬ 
der and shoot beside the mark; and this may be 
seen plainly enough in the names of the succeeding 
princes. 




CHAP. Xf. 


OF NATIONS. 


'75 


CHAP. XL 


Jupiter makes war against his father Saturn^ and 
after his death reigned alone over the Titans. 


Every body knows from the authority of an. 
ctent history^ that he whom the Romans called Jupi. 
ter, for that was not his true name, made a cruel war 
against his father. It was so; and we may be surprised 
at it; sometimes,indeed,we feel indignantat the thought 
that the son should form such a revolt against his fa- 
ther,and prosecute him w ith his arms. History,indeed, 
furnishes us with the like examples, but they have 
been such as were ever abhorred, even amongst the 
most fierce and barbarous nations : and therefore 
Jupiter, as much a deity as he is made to be, must 
be condemned upon this score, and his actions 
branded with the hated characters of barbarity and 
impiety. However, we must confess that something 
occurs to us, which seems to render them not so un¬ 
just and odious,and of which we shall speak hereafter^ 


76 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XI. 


I have already said in shewing how Saturn came | 
to the empire, that Titan, his eldest brother, did 1 
not renounce it to him, but upon certain conditions, 
agreed upon between them; and this last growing 
outrageous, because they were not performed on 
the part of Saturn, studied ways to be revenged on 
him; in order to which he surprized Saturn witfi 
his wife Rhea, somewhere in Thrace, if I am not 
mistaken ; and having them in his power, he strict- 
kept them under a guard in a strong and well 
fortified place: Jupiter, who was then a young 
man full of spirit, but had not yet come out of the 
isle of Crete, where he was educated, hearing of the 
miserable imprisonment of his father, embarked a 
body of troops ; with which, having fought, and 
defeated his uncle Titan's army, he set his father 
at liberty, and restored him to his throne. After 
which he returned victoriously, and full of glory 
into Crete. This we learn from Ennius in his Sa¬ 
cred History, as related by Lactantius in these words; 
Jovem adulium venisse cum magna Cretensium 
multitudine^ Titanumque ac Jilios ejus pugnando 
vicisse : parentes viriculis exemisse^ patri regnum 
reddidisse : atque ita in Cretam remeasse. These 
were the first and happy achievements of this prince, 
as they are noted in history. 





CHAP. XI, 


or NATIONS, 


77 


Lactantius, who relates them upon the credit of 
Ennius who had them from Evemerus, makes no 
scruple of delivering them for truth, he being by no 
means willing to reject the testimonies of ancient 

authors, though at the same time he well knew how 

• 

to distinguish them from the poets and other vain 
fictions of those times. Therefore he makes no scru¬ 
ple to say before he produces them ; Apertamus ea 
qute veris Uteris contineniur, ne poetarum inepti^ 
as in accusandis religionibus sequi probare videa* 
mur. This learned father had no other design in 
producing these ancient historians, than proving to 
the Gentiles, by witnesses of unsuspected credit, 
that Saturn and Jupiter had been great men in the 
world, and their authority and grand actions extend¬ 
ed so far as to cause them’to be placed in the num¬ 
ber of the gods: which is also said by Lactantius 
Quibus ex rebus, cum constet illos homines fuisse: 
Non obscurum est, qua ratione DU cceperunt nomU 
nari. But nothing so fully confirms this truth, 
which entirely destroys the false religion of the an¬ 
cient Greeks, as well as of the Romans, as the birth 
of him, whom they foolishly adored for the omni¬ 
potent God of heaven and earth. 

All the prophane authors, and that is much, 


78 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XI. 


agree that Jupiter was the son of Rhea, the sister 
and wife of Saturn, but they do not so well accord as 
to the place of his nativity. Some say it was in the 
isle of Crete, taking the place of his education for 
that of his birth. Others think it was in Arcadia. I 
am fully of this opinion, which was that of the fa¬ 
mous Callimachus, who lived in the reign of Ptolemy 
Philadelphus, and of his successor. This learned man 
in the hymn he made in honour of Jupiter, whom he 
calls A god ever great ever reigning^^ confesses at 
first that he does not know which side to take in 
respect to the place of his nativity. Quonium^ says 
he, Jovis genus controversum ccyi.ip-nptor9i. 

Some pretend Callimachus’ says, that you raere 
horn in Crete^ on mount’Ida^ and others main^ 
tain it was in Arcadia^ on mount Lycesus, ^ O 
^ father, who are those that are liars in this parti- 
‘ cular? the Cretans are always liars, ats^^l^sZs■xi, 
^ Cretenies semper mendaces: For, great king, 
‘ they have forged a sepulchre for you ; whereas you 
‘ are not dead, but live forever.* In this manner docs 
Callimachus flatter his pretended deity,whose tomb, 
which was in the isle of Crete, he would not own, 
but makes him to be born on mount Lycajus in 


^ Callim. Hymno in Jovem. statim, ab initio. 


CHAP. XI. 


OF NATIONS, 


79 


Parrasia, a country of Arcadia, inhabited in ancient 
times by the Apidani. Hence he says afterwards, 
’Ey Tlscq^xcln Te Rhea peperit. He adds, that the 
place was sacred, that no woman durst approach 
it, and that they called it in that country {Puerps- 
rium) the place where Rhea was delivered. 

These are the false and wretched ideas which the 

I 

poets have conceived of their gods. This author 
maintains Arcadia to have been the birth-place of 
his Jupiter, and will not allow his being buried in 
Crete ; as if he that was born must not die. Such 
are the error, blindness, and stupidity, which the 
finest wits amongst the Gentiles were guilty of. 
However, it is plain by what Callimachus here says, 
that his Jupiter whose true name was Jou, was 
born in Arcadia upon mount Lycasus, which is near 
the city Lycosiira, and which Pausanias considers as 
the oldest of all other cities f though that cannot 
be true any farther than in respect to Arcadia, 
and all Greece. But the opinion of Callimachus 
seems to me the more to be embraced, because the 
Arcadians have always insisted that Jupiter w'^as 
their countryman, born upon the top of mount Ly- 


2 Pans. 1. 8. 


80 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP, XI. 


caeus ; upon which account they called it the Sa¬ 
cred Top. This we learn from the same Pausanias 
in his Arcadicae, which is the eighth book of his de¬ 
scription of ancient Greece. 

If there be any anxious to know, why the princess 
Rhea chose so remote and solitary a place to bring 
forth Jupiter, her last child, this is the reason ; her 
husband Saturn, whether out of a religious zeal, 
or some other motives, had already put to death, 
or to speak more favourably, sacrificed several of 
his children to the gods, and the angry ghost of his 
father. Now Rhea^ finding herself with child of 
Jupiter, and fearing he might be made a victim as 
the rest had been, removed for some time far from 
court, under pretence of making a voyage into Ar¬ 
cadia, OP the isle o^Crete, in the first of which 
places, as already said, she was delivered of a son, 
who was named Jou, and afterwards Jupiter ; and 
in order that his life might be the better secured, 
she caused him to be transported a little while after 
into Crete, and there it was that he was nursed and 
bred up in his youth, in the recesses of mount Ida, 
among those who were called Curetes: the Grecians 
speak.frequently both in their histories and poems 
of these Curetes, without being ever able to know 


CHAP. XI. 


OF NATIONS. 


8t 


or guess who they were: 1 shall endeavour to make 
out presently what they seemed to be wholly igno^ 
rant of. As for the time of the birth of Jupiter, the 
son of Saturn and Ilhea, it Is so ancient, as to ex¬ 
tend, I may say, to the latter days of Abraham ; 
nay, if w'e believe the chronicle of Eusebius, it hap- 
^)ened before that holy patriarch entered the land of 
Canaan: but I believe he m' as mistaken there, and 
1 cannot for many reasons be of his opinion. 

Jupiter therefore, all agree, was brought up in 

I 

the isle of Crete, and the Curetcs, to w hose care his 
mother had entrusted him, were to give him educa¬ 
tion. When he was a little grovvn up, he boldly 
adventured to free his father from his confinement, 
and 'the hands of his enemies ; and not content with 
that, restored him, as 1 have said before, to his 
throne. Some years after, Saturn being grown 
old, and at the same time susceptible of every thing 
that might give him any umbrage or jealousy, and 
seeing also his son Jupiter, in the flower of his 
years, he bethought himself of going to consult the 
oracle or the diviners, many of whom were about 
him, and without whom he undertook no enter- 
prize^; they answered him, that he ought to have 

i Ennius apud Lactan, 1. 1. c, 14. 

Cr 





82 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XI, 


a care of his young son Jupiter, who in time might 
be likely to dethrone him. Such an answer as this 
could not fail of making a powerful impression upon 
the spirits of a prince, who was already distrustful, 
fearful, and jealous. 

It entered into his head, that his son would dis¬ 
possess him of his crown, which he had placed 
upon his head, and that he would not fail to treat 
him in the same manner, as his conscience accused 
him of haying treated his own father Uranus. From 
thence forward he began to form designs how he 
might entrap and get him into his power; but as 
that young prince had the address to elude them, it 
came at last to an open rupture.^ Jupiter, to be 
secure from danger, found that the safest and most 
expeditious way, was to win over to his interest 
those whom his father had entrusted with the go- 
yernment of the isle of Crete, where he always re¬ 
sided ; he concerted his affairs so well, and managed 
them with such secresy, that upon'Saturn’s enter¬ 
ing into that island to carry on the war against him, 
he was betrayed by those he most confided in : 
and so the son obtained the victory more by artifice 
and good management, than by force of arms. Sa- 

^ * Jul. Firm, lib, de Enore profan, religion. 


CHAP. KI, 


OP NATIONS. 


83 


turn finding himself betrayed and defeated, and be-. 
sides that he could not be safe in a country where 
every thing was at the disposal of his enemies, quitted 
the island with some troops, and entered that part 
of Greece, afterwards called Peloponnesus, Ilis son 
being incensed with his pernicious designs against 
him, which tended to no other than to take away 
his life, followed him close, and having obliged him 
to fight, overcame him a second time. Upon which 
Saturn finding himself in a for lornstate, and that 
he had no secure retreat throughout all Greece^ 
hastened into Italy, the better to save himself from 
the violent prosecutions of his enemies. 

There are many learned men, who are of opinion 
that Julius Firmicus, who in the time of Constan¬ 
tins, the son of Constantine the Great, wrote 
against the errors of the heathen religion, was 
much mistaken, when in speaking of Saturn, he 
said that that conquered and fugitive king conceal¬ 
ed himself in a corner of Italy among the Spartans, 
Hie ex CretafugienSy in Italia a Spartanis abscon^ 
ditur.^ But these learned men reprehend Firmicus, 
because they knew not that some years before the 
death of the patriarch Abraham, when Jupiter made 

‘ Jul, Firm. lib. de Error profan, religion. 

' G 2 


84 


THE antiquities 


CHAP* XI. 


Avar against liis father, there were some Spartans in 
Italy; yes, there were some of them there ever since 
that time, and we shall see, hereafter, that they in¬ 
corporated with the Umbrians and Aborigines. An- 
tiquity informs iis^ that Janus reigned at that time 
over the Aborigines, in that part of Italy adjoin¬ 
ing to the Tyber, Avhen Saturn came thither for 
refuge. This country was afterwards called Sa- 
turnia, from the name of that prince, who in all 
appearance, governed there only by his authority, 
and during his pleasure. If Ave believe ancient his¬ 
tory, he reigned sometime with the same Janus, as 
we learn from some places in Tertullian.'^ 

Jupiter, finding his father Avas fled, and reduced 
to extremities, made good use of his victories, in 
extending the boundaries of his empire. But his 
prosperous fortune had like to have proved fatal to 
him through the jealousy conceived of him by the 
greatest part of his kindred, (who are called Titans 
in history) when they found that he had over¬ 
thrown and expelled his father out of all Greece, 
and thereby aimed at making himself master of an 
empire, to which they had as well-grounded pre- 

• Auctor origin Sent. Rom. SerA’ius in 1. 8, ;Eueid. & ali*. 

’ Tcrtull, Apol. c, 10, & alibi. 


CHAP. XI, 


OF NATIONS. 


85 


tensions as himself. These formed a strong confe¬ 
deracy against him, and haring drawn together a 
great army, gave him.battle. But the event prov- 
ing favourable to this young prince, he ruined the 
forces of his enemies, and obliged them to disperse 
and provide for their own safety, to avoid the effect 
of his just displeasure. We have reason to believe, 
from certain monumenis of antiquity that have been 
conveyed down to us, that they retired into Spain, 
that is, to the utmost parts of the West, and that 
Saturn finding himself not safe in Italy, went thither 
to them. 


There it was that they renewed the war, which 
lasted a long time both by sea and land with various 

I 

success; but Jupiter at last having drawn his ma¬ 
ritime forces together, and had the address to bring 
over some of the confederates to his side, went even 
' as far as Spain in person, in order to put an end to 
a war that had raged for so many years; he fought 
his enemies all in a body, and obtained a complete 
victory, if w’e believe the scholiast upon Homer, 
who is usually called Didymus.® This great battle, 
that decided the fortune of the empire of the Ti¬ 
tans, was fought near Tartesa, an ancient and fa- 


® Didym, Schol. in 1. 8. Iliad ad, v. 479. 


86 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


C A y • X« 

mous city upon the ocean, a Httle above Cadiz, to 
the northward. This author calls them giants, who 
fought against Jupiter, because they were really 
so; but others name them Titans. 

Justin ^ seems to confirm the thing, when he says, 
that the Curetcs lived formerly in forests, irear 
Tartesa, wherein it was said that the Titans made 
war against the gods : by which last expression Ju¬ 
piter, and those of his side are meant, as by the 
Titans we are to understand those that took part 
with his father Saturn. And here it will not be im¬ 
proper to observe that Isaac Vossius was mistaken 
in his notes upon Justin, where he says, that 
there w'ere never any Curetes in the woods by Tar- 
tesa,” instead of which words we ought to read 
Cynetes; for wherever there were any of the 
Titans, as there were some undoubtedly in these 
parts, there were also Curetes, who were their 
soothsayers, priests, and sacrificers. 


c 

\\ 

(' 

I 




This was the issue of that long and cruel war be-'' 
' tween the Titans upon the account of Saturn and 
Jupiter. It lasted full ten years^£x«, ac« 
cording to the poets and historians. It is not known 


5 Justin, Hist. 1,44. c, 4. 









CHAP. XI. 


OF NATIONS. 


87 


what became afterwards of the unfortunate Saturn, 
unless it were that retiring at last into Sicily, he 
died there with grief, and under the pressure of 
old age: for if we believe the authority of Philo- 
corus the historian, there it is that they shewed his 
sepulchre: and such was the end and fortune of him 
whom prophane historians looked upon to be the 
origin of the gods, and, as it were, the source of 
their heathen deitieswhich made Tertullian say, 
in speaking of the Gentiles, that they had no know'- 
Jedge of any God before Saturn, ante Saturnum 
deus penes vos ne?no.^^ It was in him began all, at 
least the chief and most noted of their deities: and 
what makes that great man speak thus, is, because 
Uranus, the father of Saturn, was not so famous 
as he, nor his divinity so well confirmed in the 
minds of mortals. He afterwards adds, what 
we know for certain concerning the condition and 
origin of Saturn, will serve to fix that of his pos¬ 
terity.” He then shews from history that this pre¬ 
tended deity was a man like other men, and that he 
was received by Janus in a corner of Italy, where 
he reigned for some time jointly with that prince; 

Hesiod, in Theog. Apol. 1. 1. c. 2. Schol, iEschil. in Pro- 
meth. 

u Philecor. apud.Clem. Alexan, Admon. ad Gent. Tertul. in 
Apologetic, c. 10. 


Il 


88 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XI. 


from whence the Heathens inferred, that he was very 
just. Undoubtedly if Saturn were a man, he was 
the son of another man: si homo Saiurnus, utiquel 
exhomine. And seeing he was begot by a man, he 
cannot be said to have been the son of Heaven and 
Earth : all the ancient fathers, who in their writ- I 
ings have taken upon them to controvert the divi¬ 
nity of these imaginary gods, have spoken of them , 
much after the same manner as Tcrtullian : they 
made no scruple to own that Saturn and Jupiter i 
were warlike and powerful men, that ruled over ' 
nations; and any one may read what Athenagoras, j 
Theophilus of Antioch, Minutius Felix, Arnobius, ! 
Eactantius, St. Augustine, ^and others, say upon 
this subject. 


\ 















CHAP. XII. 


OF NATIONS. 


89 


CHAP. XU. 


That Jupiter^ the Son of Saturn^,reigned alone 

over the Titans, 

After the long war already mentioned, and after 
the death of Saturn, which happened soon after, 
Jupiter finding himself sole master of that vast em¬ 
pire, which his father possessed, and which reached 
from the Euphrates to the utmost boundaries of 
Spain, did, according to the example of his father and 
grandfather, make an alliance with Juno, who was 
the heroine of the Grecians : and thus, that 
princess became his,wife, as well as she was before, 
his sister, et soror et conjux. These incestuous 
marriages are, and not without good reason, con¬ 
demned and abhorred in our days ; but they suited 
those ancient times, when violence and bestiality 
prevailed as well as barbarity. They were common 
also among the Chaldeans, Egyptians, Persians, Ma¬ 
cedonians, Carians, and perhaps the ancient Latins 


GO 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XII. 


or Aborigines; to say nothing of the Athenians, 
among whom sometimes these horrible irregulari- 
ties were practised. And indeed the Titan princcsj 
instead of considering these alliances as incestuous, | | 
made a matter of religion of them. This is what j 7 

the Curetes inspired into them, and the same was j i 

done by the Magi to the kings of Persia, and it I j 

seems to me as if all this came originally from the | 

Chaldeans of Assyria and Mesopotamia, into whom • 
surely the enemy of mankind must himself have 
inspired it. 

But to return to Jupiter : this potent prince 
finding himself fixed on the throne, delighted in 
going from time to time, to sec the provinces subject \ 
to his empire. And we learn from history that he 
intrusted the government of those situated in the west I 
to his brother Dis, whom the Greeks call Pluto ; I 
within the bounds of which we are to comprehend 
Gaul and Spain : but we are to take notice, that 
during that time Telamon, who was better known by 
the name of Atlas, had the sovereign authority in the 
more western countries of Africa, since called Mau¬ 
ritania. Probably he was fixed there after the 
war of the Titans, and Jupiter did not molest him, 
he being his cousin-german, as he was the son of 










eiiAP. XII, 


OF NATIONS, 


91 


Japefj the brother of Saturn. This prince was of 
gigantic stature and strength, ami thence it was 
that the Celtae or Titans, gave him the name of Te¬ 
lamon ; for Tcl or Tal in that language signifies 
liigh, tall, or lusty, and mon or man is man. The 
Atlas of the Latins implies very nearly the same thing, 
the word being derived from altas^ by tue trans¬ 
position of a letter only. This person, as well as 
other Titan princes, was well skilled in auguries and 
divinations, and more particularly in astronomy, 
and it was his skill in this science, together with 
the bulk and strength of his body, that occasioned 
all the ancient fables made of him. He had, among 
others, a daughter, named Maia, i. e. flowery, who 
also became Jupiter’s wife, and by whom he had 
the famous Teutat or Hermes, who was better 
known by the name of Mercury, and held in great 
Teneration not only among the Gauls, but also 
among the Teutones or Germans, 

But to return to our great king,(for so it was that 
the antients called Jupiter) ; it is a hard matter to 
tell exactly what sort of life he led, and how he go¬ 
verned his empire : those who in ancient times wrote 
the history of the isle of Crete, do not fail highly to 
extol him,and say that he excelled all other princes in 


9^' , THE ANTIQUITIES CHAP. Xll. 

strength, courage, prudence, justice, and other vir- 
tues;that he tookmuch pains to go and regulate things 
for the good of the public ; that he punished injuries ; 
and proscribed violence and other irregularities. 
These are the liberal encomiums given him by Dio¬ 
dorus Siculus, upon the authority of the historians 
of Crete. Ennius, as quoted by Lactantius, enter¬ 
tains us almost with the same account of him but 
there are others, who would make us believe that 
after this prince had dethroned his father, his sove¬ 
reign authority somewhat degenerated into tyranny, 
or that at least it was tainted with some outrageous 
acts; and this undoubtedly w as the reason or pre¬ 
tence at least that Juno had, and some other princes 
and princesses of the blood, to form a dangerous 
conspiracy against him, which however by the in¬ 
formations he had, he easily detected and disap¬ 
pointed. 

This monarch might therefore upon several occa¬ 
sions proceed so far, as to abuse the sovereign pow¬ 
er lodged in his hands: yet it is confessed by all, 
that he did the Grecians a great deal of good : for 
, they assure us, that he employed all his power to 

’ Ennius apudLact. 1, i. c. 11. 


/ 

















CHAP. XII. 


OF NATIONS. 


93 


root out the robbers and outlaws, who sheltered 
themselves in the mountains and forests of Thes¬ 
saly, Macedonia, and lilyria, and perpetrated a 
thousand rillanies and outrages. They were known 
by the name of Pelogons or Pelagons, Eucheleans, 
and Ccraunians. They were a fierce and potent 
people, who from their bulk and strength of body 
passed for terrible giants, that durst adventure to 
make w'ar against the gods ; that is, Jupiter and 
the princes of his country. Callimachus attributes 
something great to his prowess in this particular, 
since in the beginning of his encomium he is called 
the rooter out of the Pelagonians,* TlyiXatyovwv Ixx- 
rvpxy Pelagonum seu terrigenum expulsorem* 
He had reason to do his utmost to destroy them ; 
for he often kept his court near mount Olympus, 
and the delightful parts of Thessaly adjoining to 
Macedon,where these fearless rovers lived, who were 
so troublesome to him and his people, ■ But to 
clear this point as to mount Olympus, we shall 
quote w hat Lactantius says of it upon the authority 
of the history of Evemerus, translated into Latin by 
Ennius.2 learn, says that father, from the 

same history, that this king has sometimes resided 

2 Callim. hymn, in Jovem. 

5 Kvenit apud Lac.l, 1. divin. Instltut. c. 11. 


94 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP, xii; 


in the delightful recesses of mount Olympus, which 
is set down in these words: ^ At that time Jupiter 
^ spent much of his time on mount Olympus : Ea 
^ tempestate Jupiter in monte Olympo maximum 
*' partem vitae colehatj There it was that he came 
to administer justice, when matters of ditference 
and controversy were brought before him ; and if 
any one had found out some invention, that might 
be useful to the public, and for the benefit of man¬ 
kind, he went thither to give him an account: see¬ 
ing therefore, that this potent king often resided 
about mount Olympus, and that after his decease 
he was taken for the god of heaven, hence it was 
that the poets took this famous mountain, which is 

the highest in all Greece, for heaven, as Lactantius 

% 

has well observed. 

Finally, this great man, after he iiad ruled over 
a great part of the world, and made his name im¬ 
mortal, died like other men ; and Ennius, after 
Evemerus, assures us, it was in the isle of Crete. 
JEtate pessum acta, in Greta vitam commuiavit. 
Soon after which he adds, that his sepulchre was 
in the city of Gnossus ; Et sepulchrum ejus est in 
oppido Gnosso ;+and Lactantius confirms this by the 


* Ijinius apud, Lac. ib. 













CHAP. xn. 


OF NATIONS. 


95 


authority of Cicero, who, speaking of Jupiter of 
Crete, the son of Saturn, says they shewed his 
tomb in that island, Cujus in ilia insula sepuU 
chrum ostenditur it was a treasure upon which the 
Cretans always valued themselves, and it was not 
upon this account that they were liars, whatever 
Callimachus may say, who vainly reproaches them 
with taking a delight to forge a tomb for Jupiter, 
Etenim sepulchrum ra,<poYj 0 reXy Cretenses JahrU 
carunt ^ but this poet imposes upon them in this 
particular, and it is he himself that is in the wrong: 
for the Cretans were not liars, in boasting Jupiter’s 
' sepulchre was in their island, but they were vain 
and made themselves ridiculous by adoring it, as 
that of an immortal god ; and yet it is what they 
always have done, as Julius Hermicus assures us, 
A vanis Cretensibus adhuc mo,rtui Jovis tumulus 
adoraturP 

Hence we see what was the end and fortune of 

the great Jupiter, who in the early ages of time 

made such a noise and commotion in the world, 
0 

This was the man, whom the Grecians, wdth al! 

9 Cicer. apud Lac. 1. 1. c. !1. 

* Callim. hj'mn. in Jovem. 

» Jul. F, 2. lib. de Errorc. prof, Kelig', 


96 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. Xlt. 


their wisdom, and the Romans, with all their gra- 
tity, have esteemed, acknowledged, and even ador¬ 
ed for the great god of Heaven and Earth, who had 
thunder and lightning in his pow'er. Strange w'as 
the folly, and prodigious the blindness of mankind, 
out of which they have not been able to recover, for 
the space of so many ages, since we may venture 
to say, that the w’orld has been guilfy of these abo¬ 
minations and irregularities for above two thousand 
years; for it was more than that from the death of 
Jupiter to the nativity of Christ, who by his grace 
hath at least brought people out of this error. 

If any should be so curious as to know how long 
Jupiter lived, and how many years he reigned, 1 
find the course of his days were a hundred and twen¬ 
ty years, like those of Moses, who came about three 
hundred years after him ; and as for his reign, it 
may have lasted about threescore and two years 
after his father’s death ; and seventy-two, from the 
time he first made war against him. Suidas, w'ho 
had seen the ancient authors, is the person that in¬ 
forms us that Jupiter died at the age of a hundred 
and twenty, TsXsvToi k nxi skxtov Irij, Mortuiis 
cst cum vixisset annos centum atque viginii,^ Wc 


® Suidas V. ITr*©. p, 519 . 


CHAP. XII, 


OF NATIONS. 


97 


have no reason to suspect this authority, as we find 
it confirmed by the chronicle of Alexandria, in ex¬ 
press terms. He had said, a little before, that ha 
had reigned sixty.two years over the West, and in 
Italy; which may be true enough, if we compute 
the duration of his empire, from the death of Saturn 3 
for then it was that he became entirely a sovereign 
both of Italy and all the West. The author of this 
chronicle calls Jupiter always Picus, and 

Suidas does the same, 0 axi It was a 

1 surname given this prjnce, which I shall account for 
1 by and by, 
i 

Having advanced so many new and curious things 
concerning the person called Jupiter by the Romans, 
the next thing, for the better satisfaction of the rea¬ 
der, is to inquire what was his true name; for we 
find he had really many, as well as the queen, his wife. 
I am almost confident that his true name, and that 
which he had among the Titans, was Jaou, or rather 
Jou, i. e. young ; for he was indeed the youngest of 
Saturn's children. ^ And this is so clear, that the 
Bretons, who have preserved the Celtick language 
to our time, which was the same as that of the Ti- 
I tans, when they would express the day of Jupiter, 

' which i» Thursday, in Latin dies Jovis^ they call U 

ii 


I 





93 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XII. 


di joUy and by way of softening the word, diz 
which is the same thing. All this implies 
no more than the day of Jou or Jupiter. Hence 
amongst the first and most ancient Latins, he was 
simply called Jovis, and not Jupiter, as afterwards; 
and, what is still more, the name of Jupiter, does 
not come from Juvans Pater, as Cicero believes 
upon the authority of Varro, who persuaded all the 
Romans of his time to believe it; for anciently they 
wrotethe word Jaopiter, Joupiter and Jupater, from 
which afterwards they made Jupiter, by which the 
Latins have preserved his right name of Jou, to 
which they have added that of P^er or father, be¬ 
cause he was esteemed to be a god, and that God 
was the father of men* 

Thus you see all that mystery unravelled, which 
the most learned of the Romans could not compre¬ 
hend, viz. why from Jupiter, the nominative, to 
speak after the manner of the grammarians, they 
made not Jupitris and Jupitri in the oblique cases, 
instead of Jovis and Jovi, &c. For it is plain from 
what I have said, that they preserved the first and 
real name of this supposed divinity, in these ob¬ 
lique cases. Moreover the Grecians commonly 
give Jupiter the name of Ztls, from which they made 
Sn, Vj in the other cases, though without rea. 


CHAP. XIT. , OP NATION3. 99 

son ; for the word Zsts is properly the deus of the 
Latins, and both the one and the other came from 
the AnU of the ancient iEtolians; insomuch that the 
true name of Jupiter in Greek is A/V, though it is 
not used, from which they have made A/w, and the 
other cases. But this word Air properly signifies 
bright, or lucid, in Latin lucidus^ as the Curetes 
or Saliaiis-call Jupiter; and this name came ori* 
ginally from the Cretans, w’ho called the day and 
light, di^ as the Celtae or Bretons do at this day. 

Jupiter had also the surname of Picus, in Greek 
because that in his auguries and divinations 
he much observed a bird called Picus, or Picus 
Martius by the Romans, being the same as what we 
call a wood-pecker ; Pliny, speaking of these birds, 
says they were in great use in auguries: Pfct, 
Cognominey insignes Sf in auspidis magni. 
This great man farther adds, Ipsi prindpales Latio 
j sunt in auguriis a Tege^ qui nomen huic avi dedit*^ 
I But he is mistaken in this, for it was not king Picus 
that gave name to this bird, but it was from the 
bird communicated to several kings of the Latins, 
and even to Jupiter himself, who made much use of 
it in the auguries he tried, in reference to his wars, 

f Plin. Hist* Nat. 1. 10. c, 18. 

n % 




100 ^ THE ANTIQUITIES CHAP. |l 

Farther, this word Picus, or is also Cel- * 

t'ck, the same coming from JBec, or Pec, which is 
the rostrum, or beak; and this bird we speak of, 
is continually peckitig the trees, whence he had the j 

name of Picus. | 

1 

1 

I 

* ^ 1 

Jupiter, in the manner already related, being 
known and called by several names, the queen, his 
wife and sister, had also more than one : the Gre¬ 
cians gave her that of'Hpx^ as aforesaid, which sig- | 
nifies a lady; and this name comes properly from 
the Phrygian language, whence the Grecians had it, 
as well as theTeutoues, or Germans, who still say 
herr or heeff for dominits; and from thence comes 
the Latin word herus and hera^ as we shall see else- : 
where; for it is an error to think, as many of the 
learned now do, that the northern people borrowed | 
so many words in their languages from the Greeks * 
and Romans. 

As for Juno, the name commonly given to this 
princess, I suppose it came from gwen, or guyn^ 
which sigtiifies white, or fair, in the Celtick lan¬ 
guage; and so by Juno, if I am not mistaken, is 
meant no more than fair and white. That which 
gives countenance to this opinion is, what we find 




CHAP. XII. 


OP NATIONS. 


104 


Juno in the ancient glossaries was called Jolintas 
which seems to come from the word jolie • and 
hence perhaps it is that the name Jolant has been 
very common in former ages. Now all the names 
of the princes and princesses that have reigned 
over the Titans, being taken from the Celtick 
tongue, it is a manifest proof that they were de¬ 
scended from that famous nation, that afterwards 
fixed in Gaul. 

Having said so much of the great actions of Ac- 
mon and Uranus, and more especially of Satura 
and Jupiter, who were princes of so much fame 

among the Titans, it would be a strange omission 

■ 

if I should not say something concerning the 
times wherein they lived, and rendered themselves 
so famous. T have not taken a little pains to collect 
what ancient authors have said upon this occa¬ 
sion, and I find that Jupiter began to reigfi ' 
when Isaac was about half his age, and some years 
after Abraham’s death, and this is what may be 
made out from ancient historians, such as Evemerus, 
Ennius, Thall us, and some others, who all agree 
that Jiipitcr reigned in the time of Belus, the first 
king of Assyria; which quadrates very exactly 
with the opinion of those who made the verses of 
the Sybills, which say expressly, that Saturn, with 


102 


tHE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAf. XII. 


his brothers. Titan and Japet, began to reign with ^ 
the tenth generation, Acxccl-n TintaiSy Decima mtasy 
sen generation after the deluge.^® They were those 
whom people called the children of Heaven and 
^rth, because they excelled all other men in virtue 
and strength ; Quod cunctos homines virtute pt'wi- 
rent. Now (he tenth generation, reckoning from | 
the deluge, exactly answers the time of Abraham t 
Saturn must therefore begin his reign many years 
after Abraham had been in the land of Canaan: 
nay, his father Uranus must have already been very 
potent in Asia, and also in Europe, in the time of 
Thera, the father of Abraham. AH this seems 
plain to me, upon my examining those monuments 
of antiquity that we have still remaining; but the 
chronicle of Eusebius, which has been regulated by 
the ancient historians, and more especially by those 
that related to the isle of Crete, leave us no room 
to doubt the matter. We are informed by it, that 
Cres, who was one of the Curetes, who had care 
of the education of Jupiter, reigned in Crete, and 
that he was the person from whom this island had 
its pame. His circiter iemporibusn Kccia rtles rtts 
.‘XfovHs ECaai^fvsi apud Creiam regnavit Cres 


}• Carm. Sebyll, 1, X 



CHAP. Xll, 


OP NATIONS* 


103 • 


indigena^ quern aiunt unum futsse Curelarum^ a 
quibus Jupiter absconditus Sf nutritus est, Ab hoc 
ipso Creicj insula Creta appellata Eusebius, 
by these words, points out the years between the 
fiftieth and sixtieth of Abraham’s life : now Jupiter, 
according to this calculation, must have begun his 
reign about the latter end of Thera’s life, and so 
must be much older than I have made him: but I 
have many reasons for believing that Eusebius must 
be mistaken in placing him so far back as he does; 
and therefore this Titan prince ought not to be put 
any higher, than about the time when Isaac was 
attained to half his days, and he could not precede' 
Moses above 300 years. 

As for this Cres, of whom we have spoken, and 
who, according to Eusebius, was the first that 
reigned in Crete, that is, since the death of Ju¬ 
piter; he was one of that great monarch’s chil¬ 
dren, who, at his death, for his sKare, left him that 
island. Eusebius has reason to call him one of the 
Curetes, because he was bred up according to the 
rules of those men known by that name; which made 
Ennius, in his sacred History, say, that J upiter dy¬ 
ing in the isle of Crete, Curetes Jilii sui eum cura- 

n Euseb. Chron. Grace, p. 91. &c. 


1 


104 


TillE ANTIQUITIES 


<;1IAP. Xlt. 


*oerunt; theCuretes, his sons, took care to perform 
their last devoirs to him, and to erect him a funeral 
monument, which was in the city of Gnossus.*^ 
Gres therefore was Jupiter’s son. There are some 
historians that speak no otherwise of him, and he 
reigned after his decease in Crete, while others go¬ 
verned elsewhere ; for, as Ennius observes, from 
Evemerus, Jupiter divided his empire, which was 
very large, between his relations and friends ; Om- 
fiibusque amicis Sf cognatis suis imperium divisit, 
Gres had the kingdom, which from his name was 
called Crete, and the word in Celtick signifies dar¬ 
ing, or bold. 




Ennius apud Lac. Divin. InstituU ib. i. ap. 11, 













CHAP. XIII. 


OF NATIONS* 


106 


CHAP. XIII. 


Who the Curetes were^ so famous amongst the 

Titans. 


Having, ill the course of this disquisition so 
often mentioned the Curetes, who were entrusted 
with the education of Jupiter, and that his son 
Cres was one of their number, I cannot but say 
something concerning them in this place; and I 
shall the more readily do so, because they are so 
often mentioned in ancient history; and it is re. 
markable that neither the Greeks, nor the Romans, 
could tell exactly who they were. 


Strabo,^ in his tenth book of Geography, speaks 
more of them than any one of the ancient authors; 
iie is known to have been an exact and learned 
■writer, and yet after all his discourse and arguing, 
it is easy to discover he is not satisfied with himself 


’ Strabo Geogr, 1. 10, & p. 308. ad 326, 


106 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XIII. 


and indeed he had reason for it. The following 
therefore, seems to me to be the truth of things, so 
far as I have been able to make it out, from the 
customs of the Titans, and the perusing of ancient 
authors. 

The Curetes in the time of Saturn, Jupiter, and 
the other Titans, were the same as what, in after 
ages, the Druids and Bards, so famous among the 
Gauls, have been : they were the priests and sa- 
crificers, who were to take care of what belonged 
to religious matters, and the worship of the gods. 

I 

And as it was a notion prevalent in those times, 
that they had converse with them by way of divina* 
tion, and soothsaying, and the art of magick, hence 
all the Curetes were magicians, diviners, and en¬ 
chanters, as the ancients readily owned them to be* 
To them also they ascribed the knowledge of the 
stars, of nature, and of poetry; so that they w ere 
besides, astronomers, physicians, poets, &c.* They 
cured the sick by the use and virtue of herbs, and 
especially enchantments. Such were the Curetes, 
and the Druids after them; but there was this dif. 
ference, that the Curetes in the time of the Titans, 
did not fail to go to war, and therefore they were 


* Plin. Hist. Natur. 1.16. c. 44, & alibi. 



CHAP. XlII. 


OF NATIONS* 


10? 


proTided with arms, and they leaped and danced so 
nimbly with them on, beating their shields with 
their javelins, that it was from this custom, if 1 
may presume to say it, they were called Curetes t 
for Curo in the Celtick tongue, is the same thing 
as in Greek, which was made by the trans. 
position only of a letter, and the pulso of the Ro« 
mans, which signifies to beat, or strike one thing 
against another. 

This is so manifest, that these Curetes, accord* 
ing to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, were the same as 
the Salii, so well known amongst the Sabines and 
Romans; and it is certain these last had the name 
of Salii upon no other account, than that they leap* 
«;d and danced, as the Curetes did, beating their 
shields with their javelins. Besides, we may see far« 
ther, that the name of Curites, or Quirites, amongst 
the Romans, came from the same origin, which, how? 
ever, the ancients knew nothing of. As to the cus* 
toms of the Curetes, let us search and find a few ex¬ 
amples or testimonies, from ancient authors. The 
Curetes, who looked after Jupiter in a cave, says 
Apollodorus,^ beat their shields with their javelins, 
roTsAofx<Ti rxs Aavi^xs Curetes hdstibuf 


^ Apoll. Bib. 1.1. c. 1. 


tut: antiquities 


CHAP. Aiil. 


ios 


scuta quatiehant. And this they did,that Saturn might 
not hear his son Jupiter cry. The Cnretes therefore 
"were armed, and in ajl appearance went to war; 
■whereas Ca'sar in his Commentaries says, the Dru¬ 
ids amongst the Gauls were freed from it but the 
bards, who were the Gaulish poets, were not. For 
though they were of the same body with the Druids, 
yet they were not exempt from going to battle, and 
actually went to encourage the rest by their eulo¬ 
gies, verses, and poems. In short, the Curetes 
were held in the same esteem as the Druids, as be¬ 
ing the most noble and considerable people of their 
country; they were the persons who had care of 
the education of the youth, even of the kings and 
princes children, in the same manner as the Magi 
among the Parthians and Persians their authority • 
was so great, and so much regarded, that many 
times it exceeded that of their sovereign, and some 
of this body have had the fortune to be advanced to 
the throne. 


This seems to be enough concerning the Curetes, 
who were so famous amongst the Titans, and so 
little known to the ancients; but for the Titans 

4 Caesav. Com. 1. 6. 

s Plato in Alcib. Cicer. 1.1. de Divin. & alii. 










CHAP. XIII. 


OF NATIONS. 


109 


themselves, there is something very singular that is 
to be observed of them in this place, and the ra., 
ther because it frequently puzzles those who are not 
much versed in the language of ancient authors, 
Iloiner, in his Iliad, speaking of a small river in 
Troas, says, that it ran from Mount Ida into the 
sea, and that the gods gave it the name ofXanthus, 
*'Oy HetySoy xaAfW/ ©£o/,^ quern Xanthum vacant Dii; 
and which men called Scamander. Most of those 
who read this poet, know not who these gods were 
that gave the name of Xantlms to this river, and 
therefore we arc here to let them understand, that 
those gods of whom Homer speaks in the above 
passage, were no other than the Titans,"^ who were 
with Jupiter and Saturn, and therefore they are by 
the schobast frequently called 0£o< T/)y/vEy, seu TiixnSf 
dii Titanes^ the Titan gods : and these divine ap¬ 
pellations were given them on account of their be¬ 
ing esteemed the descendants of the gods, that is of 
Uranus, Saturn, and Jupiter, who amongst the 
ancient Grecians passed for powerful gods. 

But it is wonderful that not only the Greeks have 
erred in this respect; we find also that the Phoeni* 

* Homer. Iliad, c. 20. v. 74. 

7 Didid. alii. Horn. Hymn, in ApolL 



110 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XIII. 


cians, from the testimony of Sanchoniathon, quoted 
by Eusebius, were as bad as they, for that histo¬ 
rian, who is much valued for his Antiquities, says 
expressly, that the companions of Saturn, whom he 
calls in the Phcenician tongue, which signified 
God,^ or rather strong and potent, were called 
Elohim^ or gods; *^0/ t« Kplva^EXvti'fA 

rfftxX'nOtatxv : Qui vero ili^ id est Saturni^ socii erant 
^ commilitones^ dti cognominati sunt; whence it 
is certain, that the ancient heathens looked upon 
the Titans to be gods, and that they had this great 
name given them by the Grecians and Pheeuicians, 





C?IAP. XIV* 


OF nations. 


lit 


CHAP. XIV. 



That the Titans were true Celtce, 

I MIGHT pause here, and say justly, that the 
Titans have done great things in the world in an¬ 
cient times, and that their name was famous amongst 
the Greeks of old, and that this is a thing not to be 
contested, since it is confirmed by so many monu¬ 
ments of antiquity. But after all that has been 
said, does it follow that the Celtce, or Gauls, are 
their descendants, as we pretend they are ? Where 
are those authors that hare so asserted it, or that 
have left it upon record ? And how can it be believed 
without the authority of the ancients ? 1 answer, 
that though 1 should not be able to produce any 
author that says it in direct terms, yet the names of 
the princes and princesses, who have reigned over 
this famous nation, being all taken from the Celtick 
tongue, are of themselves such strong and convincing 
proofs, that they are better than the authority of 
many of the ancients. 


i 





m 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. IIT* 


But since we live in an age in which the testimony 
of a Greek makes a better impression upon the 
minds of many persons than the best reason, inquiry 
must be made for such, in order to give them all 
imaginable satisfaction ; and among these desired 
testimonies, that of Callimachus cannot be suspect¬ 
ed by any; for though he was learned, and caressed 
by the greatest kings in his time, there is, however, 
reason to believe, that he was no great friend to the 
Celtae, or Gauls. He speaks of this people and that 
with much freedom in his eulogy on the isle of Delos, 
anciently consecrated to the Sun, and says,* that the 
Celtae, a barbarous people, of the race of the ancient 
Titans, made war upon the Graeeians; for which pur¬ 
pose they came from the remotest parts of the West, 
that is from Gaul, and in such vast numbers,that they 
might be compared to snow falling down from the 
air, and to the stars that were in the firmament. 
And a little farther he calls them Galates, or Gauls, 
■whom before he had named Celtae, and made to 
come from the extremities of the west. 

The Greek scholiast upon this passage says,) 
plainly enough, that that poet speaks of the irrup- 

ICallyrUr Hymn. inDelum, ab. 170. ad. 187, v. Scbol. ibid. 







CHAP. xiy. 


, OF NATIONS, 


IIS 


tion which Brennus, king of the Gauls, rZf 

Ta.\\uv Bacr/AEvf, Brennus Gallorum Rex^ had made 
into Greece, with the Celtae which he had drawn to¬ 
gether in order to plunder the temple of Apollo at 
Delph os. But in this eulogy of Callimachus, the 
Cellae, KiXroi, are called by no other name than 
O^'/yovo; Tiioivvis, by Avhich is meant, that they were 
the descendants of the Titans, and their true pos¬ 
terity, Titanum •posteri^ or rather Tiianum vera 
posteritas; adding that they came in vast numbeii 
’EcTTr/^a Ab occidente remotissijnoy 

from a very remote country, which was the utmost 
bounds of the west. Can any thing be said more 
distinctly than this? In this eulogy he calls the 
Celtse, Gauls, and he makes them to come from the 
utmost parts of the West; and that you might un¬ 
derstand they were a warlike people, he says they 
were the descendants of the Titans, and their pos¬ 
terity, Titanum posteri. Shall we then, after this 
account given us by Callimachus, w'ho was a favou¬ 
rite of Ptolemy Philadelphus, and esteemed one of 
the most learned men amongst the ancients, make 
any scruple to believe that the Celtae were the true 
descendants of the Titans? 


I 


114 THE‘ANTIQUITIES CHAP. XIY. 

We now come to another proof for confirming ! 
what has been advanced by us, and which will, at 
the same time, inform us, that the Druids did not 
assert rashly, when they said, according to the i 
relation we have from Csesar,* that the Gauls had 
their origin from Dis ; Galli se omnes a Dite Patre 
prognafos prcedicant* This Dis was that person 
who is better known with us by the name of Pluto, 
who was also put into the number of the gods, and 

I 

was born about Dodona ; he was the son of Saturn 
and Uhea, and consequently the brother of Jupiter. 
This last prince having conquered the Titans who 
confederated against him in behalf of his father, and 
by his victories dispersed the whole faction that had 
conspired against him, and at the same time finding 
himself at peace, and that his empire was too large, 
he conferred the west upon his brother Dis; that 
is, he left, at least, to him, the dominions of Gaui 
and Spain, which are the most western parts of 
Europe ; this is confirmed by Lactantius, Ergo 
illud in veto est^ quod regnum orbis ita partiti 
sunt, ut orientis imperium Jovi cederet^ Plutoni 
cut cognomen Agenlao fuit^ pars occidentis obtin* 
geret. It was therefore a truth according to Eac- 


Caesar. Cojnni. 1.6. 





€HAP, XIV. 


OP NATIONS. 


115 


iantius, lllud in vero est, that Dis, or Pluto, had 
the countries of the west for his share, but with 
some sort of dependance in point of sovereignty^ 
upon his brother. 

Before Jupiter had, by his great victories, given 
peace to Europe, the people were harassed with 
continual wars, and consequently the whole coun¬ 
try was full of trouble and commotions: but after 
his victories all things being in peace and tranquil, 
lity, it was then that his brother Dis settled Titans 
in several places, and planted colonies in Gaul and 
Spain; he was in all appearance their chief, and 

led them thither in person; and that is the true rea- 
' / 
son why the ancient Greeks gave him the name of 

Agesander, or Agesilaiis, y.xt 

! for both these names implied the conductor of men, 

and the conductor of people. This prince being 

i 

I in Spain, which at that time seems to have been 
I called Tartesa, he found so much gold and silver 
I there, such a profusion indeed, as, according to 
Strabo, was never known before, that he was call¬ 
ed 7luto, in Greek. nx57oy, Pluto, or Plutus, that is 


9 .^Isch. Callim. Athen, Hesyeb. Strabo Geo^. !. 3. 

I 2 





116 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XIT. 


rich, and from tiiencc was esteemed the god of 
riches, both by the Greeks and Romans. 


I^esides, as Spain was situated in tlie utmost parts 
of the west, where the sun seems to set in the 
ocean, and as the place where it did set, was by 
the ancient Grecians reputed to be the lower and 
most inferior part of the earth: hence the poets 
and fabulists have represented this prince as the J 
god of the inferior regions, or the god of Hell: for 
as Lactantius, speaking of this matter, says very 
justly, The east, from whence light was com¬ 
municated to men, seemed to be the upper part of 
the earth, and the west was taken for the inferior 
or lower part;” Eo quodplaga brieniis^ says that 
father, ex qua lux mortalibus datur^ superior^ 
occidentis autem inferior esse videatur f this made 
Strabo (and that with good reason) believe, that 
the Greek word Tartarus, was derived 

from Tartesa, a couutry situated in the utmost parts 
of Spain and the West. Now, if Dis led a colony 


of Titans or Celtse, into Gaul, the Gauls had rea¬ 
son to say, after their Druids, that they w'ere de¬ 
scended from him, as they looked upon the person 


4 Lactan. divln. 1. 1. c. 11. 


CHAP, XIV. 


OF NATIONS. 


117 

that had first fixed them there, and that with some 
justice too, as their first origin and stock. 

But if we enquire further into the original of the 
word Dts, which makes Dilis in the genitive case, 
we shall easily find that it comes from Tit, out of 
which they have made Titis, softened into Ditis; 

\ 

for in all languages, especially the northern ones, 
the D and the T are very often taken for one ano¬ 
ther. And so Dis properly signifies earth, or earth- 
ly, in the same manner as^A^sr, which is the usual 
name given by the Grecians to Pluto, and which is 
as much as to say 'aV, Ates, and comes from the . 
Celtick word at, which signifies earth. Tims we 
find by these etymologies, deduced from the lan¬ 
guage of the Titans, that the Dis of the Romans, 
and the **AJ»if of the Greeks were the same thing. 
Besides, as the Titans were said to be born of the 
earth, or the children of the earth, the Gauls have 
still from this a claim to say, that they came from 
Dis, that they were the sons of Dis, who was then 
looked upon to be the god of the earth. Take it 
which way you will, it is plain, that the Celtae or 
Gauls, came from the ancient Titans, according to 
Callimachus, who was very capable of making the 
discovery. 


118 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XIVi 


But what I am about to say of Mercury, will have 
a great weight tow ards a further confirmation of all 
that has been affirmed concerning the origin of the. 
CcKae. This prince was nephew to Dis, or Pluto, 
because he was Jujnter and Maia’s son, according 
to the consent of all antiquity. Now amidst all 
the wars and broils that happened among the Ti* 
tans, Mercury always adhered to his father’s inter¬ 
est, who did not fail to make due acknowledge¬ 
ments of his fidelity; for if we believe Suidas, 
Jupiter, before he died, gave him the empire of the 
west, Tixpa^ovs 'tv)v rvs ^v(7t»is Cum occiclentis 

imperiiim tradidisset jilio suo Mercurio^ 
functus €sU^ It is very likely that his uncle Dis was 
dead before Jupiter bestowed such a large donation 
upon him, which at least contained Italy, Gaul, 
and Spain, and perhaps Germany too. The Chro¬ 
nicle of Alexander fully confirms what Suidas says, 
and says in express terms, that Mercury, whom he 
calls by the name of Faunus, reigned five and 
thirty years in Italy after his father’s decease. Fast 
JovisPici ohiium.Jilius ejus Faunus,qui etMercurius^ 
Regnum Italia; adminislravit annos quinque supra 
iriginia ,* I vi<^ uvrS o E^/:x>5r, 


5 Suidas 


CHAP. XIV. 


OF NATIONS^ 


ira 


rw IrxXlxs trn rfnxKovrx The same chronicle 

adds, that he was the first, at least in the west, that 
found out the art of melting and refining gold, by 
the help of a crucible or coppel. 

We learn from ancient monuments that Mer* 
cury was a cunning, active, and eloquent prince, 
and that he was a perfect master of all the sciences 
in use in those days, above all in that of augury, 
divinations, and enchantments, with whatever was 
most accurate and secret in magick : and this is the 
reason of his being accounted the interpreter of the 
gods; that is, the augur and diviner of the Titan 
princes, who consulted him about their designs and 
eiiterprizes. It was undoubtedly in order to ren¬ 
der himself a perfect master of all these diabolical sci- 
ences, that he went thrice into Egypt, as St. Cyril 
of Alexandria assures us in his excellent book 
against Julian the apostate. And it is very likely 
that it was in that country that he aflected to as¬ 
sume the name of Theut, in imitation of the ancient 
Egyptian Mercury, who possessed it before him, 
and who made himself so famous among the people 

I 

that dwelt about the Nile. 


® ChrOii, Alexand. p, 105. pr. Ed» 






THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XIV. 


\ 


ISO 


This polite and learned prince had the address, by 
his eloquence and other means, somewhat to polish 
the rough natures, and to moderate the fierceness 
of those ancient people that were his subjects : 
and in order to effect this he enacted laws that 
tended to the preservation of the peace, and disco¬ 
vered arts that were beneficial to the public : but 
above all things he endeavoured, by trade and com¬ 
merce which he established among the inhabitants 
of these western parts, who breathed nothing be¬ 
fore but war and rapine, to unite them in affection 
and interest. These were the good actions done 
by Mercury for the benefit of those barbarians, by 
which he made his name immortal. 


The Titans or CeUae, at that time fixed in Gaul, 
finding under his empire and government all those 
benefits which he had procured them, zealously 
preserved his memory, for the space of above two 
thousand years: for Caesar in his Commentaries 
says, that of the gods there were none which the 
Gauls adored more particularly than Mercury 
Deum maxime Mercurium colunt? He assures us, 
that they had a great many statues of him, to which 


V Cscsar CohIj 1. Cf> 


CHAP. XIV. 


OF NATIONS* 


121 


they paid the highest honours; and he adds, That 
these people took him to be the inventor of arts: 
Hunc omnium inventorem artium jerunt. But 
above all things they considered him as the protec¬ 
tor of merchants and travellers. In a word, ail 
the heathen nations of antiquity regarded him as the 
god of gain, commerce, and merchandize. This is 
the notion the Gauls, as well as other people, had 
of him* 

I find he had two names among them, viz. that 
of Teutat, which is the same as Teutates, and which 
we .meet with in Lucao, Lactantius, and also in 
Livy and that of Mercury, by which he was 
known to the Romans. The name of Teutat is 
wholly Celtick, for Teut in that language signifies 
people, and Tat, a father; and as for the word 
Mercury, that likewise came from the Celtick, and 
implies a trading man; ior meres in Gaulish, from 
whence came the Latin word mex, signifies mer¬ 
chandize, and ur in that language is a man, 
whence the word mV has been derived ; so ih^tMerc- 
t/r,in Latin Mercurius^ is word for word a traffick* 
ing and trading man. Is there therefore now any 

• Lucan 1. J. Lactan, 1.1. c. 21. & Liv. 1. 26. c. 44. 




THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XIT, 


nit 


room to doubt that the Celtae, who had such a ve¬ 
neration for Tcutat or JMercury, and to whom they 
gave both these names, are not descended from 
those w'cstern Titans, who submitted to his autho- 

I 

rity and lived under his empire. As for the people of 
Greece, they called him by the common name of 
Hermes, *Rp(A.ris, Hermes, which in their language 
signifies an interpreter, and sometimes diviner ; but 
this word came originally from the Celtick, where¬ 
in signifies divination, ora foretelling of what 

shall come to pass. Thus Mercury in his father’s 
life time, was looked upon to be the prophet and 
diviner of those kings, who were afterwards called 
gods, and which honour also in time fell to his share. 


As the same Mercury reigned also in Italy, they 
gave him the name of P'aunus, which in all appear¬ 
ance signifies a diviner; but particular ‘ care must 
be had, that this first Faunus be not confounded 
with those of the same name, that lived many ages 
after, and especially with him, who was the father 
of king Latinus, in whose time u^lneas came into 
Italy; for our Faunus reigned in that country, 
when the patriarch .Joseph was prime minister to 
king Pharaoh, and died about the time the Israel¬ 
ites went Into Egypt. As for the rest, it is not 



uiAP, xir. 


OF NATIONS* 


ns 


known for certain what the fate of Mercury was, 
nor whether his life ended at the same time with his 
reign. Some there are who say, that his own bre¬ 
thren were so jealous of his power and prosperity, 
that they formed a conspiracy against him, and 
made an attempt upon his life;^ and that this neces¬ 
sitated him to flee with his treasures into Egypt, 
where he spent the remainder of his days in peace. 
But may not we believe he died in Spain, for 
there was a large tomb near New Carthage in the 
time of Scipio and Hannibal, which they commonly 
called Mercury, or Mercury Teutat, as wc learn 
from Li?y.*° From hence we may be easily induced 
to believe, that he died not in Egypt, but in the 
west, and in those territories subject to his autho¬ 
rity. 

9 Chron. Alex. & Suidas, v. 

'• Tit, Lit. 1. 22. c. 44, 








124 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP, 


CHAP. XV 


A Recapitulation of what has been said concerning 

the Titan Kings, 



,yvE may see, from 'vvhat has been already said 
from the authority of the antients, for I have in¬ 
vented nothing of ray own, a train or exact succes¬ 
sion of kings and princes, who in those obscure 
ages of the world governed the Celtae, that were 
then known by no other name than that of Titans. 
The first of these princes was Acmon, and it was 
he that at his coming out of Armenia, where they 
were called Sacae, conducted them into Cappa¬ 
docia, and from thence into Phrygia, having his 
brother Docas for his companion, and it may be 
his soothsayer or augur; the second was named 
Uranus, who was a warlike man, and being full of 
ambition and a lover of arms, he extended his con¬ 
quests from Asia Minor as far as Spain, that is, to 
the utmost boundaries of Europe in the west. 


CHAP. XT. 


OF NATIONS, 


125 


Saturn, otherwise called Cronos, was the third, 
and this is the person, who is very justly regarded 
as the father of the great Jupiter ; we find by an¬ 
cient history that he also performed mighty things, 
and that he was the first of the Titan princes, who"^ 
durst wear a crown, and assume the title of king ; 
for the other princes before had only the quality 
of being chiefs and leaders of the people, that 
were under their command, 

Jupiter, whose true name was Jau, or rather 
Jou, must be regarded as the fourth and most re¬ 
nowned of them all: he was a prince, who by the 
greatness of his courage and the series of his victo¬ 
ries and successes, formed the empire of the Titans, 
and carried it to the highest pitch of glory that 
could be ; and he had been still greater, and more 
renowned, had he not been reduced to the fatal ne¬ 
cessity of bearing arms, and making war against 
his father, who studied to deprive him of his 
life. 

Lastly, his son Teutat, otherwise called Mercury, 
was the person, who after his uncle DIs, whom we 
call Pluto, settled the Titans in the provinces of 
the west, and more especially in Gaul, He was < 



126 


THE antiquities 


CHAP. XT. 


the prince that gave laws to these people, who be¬ 
fore coveted and breathed nothing but war, that he 
might thus soften their fierce and barbarous natures, 
and inspire them with some love for peace and tran¬ 
quility. 

If we should reckon Maneus among these great 
men, for he is considered by some historians to be 
the father of Acmon, and consequently the great 
grandfather of Saturn, we shall then have six in a 
direct line, that is, six generations of Titan 
princes; and these ascend as high as the time otf 
Nahor^ the father of Terah, and grandfather of 
Abraham, and do not terminate till towards the 
time that the children of Israel went into Egypt ;so 
that their power and dominion, whether in Asia 
Minor, Syria, Greece, Italy, or the rest of Europe, 
might last about three hundred years. 

Let us now consider what a change this miis-t 
make in the manners, customs, policy, religion, and 
more especially in the language of the first people, 
that settled in these fine provinces, before the Ti. 
tans fixed themselves in them. As, among otlier 
countries, they ruled over Phrygia, Greece, and 
Italy, it is impossible but their language, which wai 


CHAP. XV, 


OP NATIONS. 


127 


Celtickj as may be seen by the proper names of 
their princes, must needs very mucli obtain in those 
countries, together with their empire; and in this 
surely there can be nothing strange or new, or 
which has not befallen other nations, when they 
have made conquests, or fixed any colonics. 


Hence we need not wonder that the Greek and 
Latin tongues are so full of words, which at this 
day we find in the Celtick language, which they 
regarded as barbarous, and from which theirs came, 
as from their source and origin ; the same may be 
said of the Phrygian tongue, which ought to be con. 
sidered as the true mother of the Teutonick, which 
we call the German language ; but of these things 
hereafter. 1 intend to give not only certain, but 
also convincing proofs of the truth of them. 


Some perhaps may say, it is true, here is a suc¬ 
cession of Titan princes in a direct line, from father 
to son, which is strange and singular enough, whe¬ 
ther we consider their glorious actions, or the great 
antiquity ascribed to them, but what assurance can 
we have for all this, that is, of the succession of 
the princes, as well as of those great actions, which 
have heaped on them so much glory, and placed 


128 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XT. 


them in the number of the heroes of antiquify ? 
Have I not given you the authority of a vast num¬ 
ber of authors, both poets and historians, as m cII 
Greeks as Romans, which I have very carefully 
cited ? and to whom I ought to add the famous 
Sanchoniathon, who was very ancient, having writ¬ 
ten the history of Phoenicia before the Trojan war. 
All of them agree about the succession of these 
princes, and the chief things contained herein ; and 
could all these authors, that are so ancient, and 
often so remote from each other, both in point of 
time and place, conspire to deceive the w'orld, and 
to impose upon posterity ? An illusion, or rather 
a cheat of this nature, has no example in all anti¬ 
quity. 

Again, if some of these authorities may be ques¬ 
tioned, because there are poets among them, there 
are other authorities that are not such ; and these 
are the different people, and entire nations, that 
have proceeded from these Titans, of which num¬ 
ber arc the Cretans, Spartans, or Lacedemonians, 
Eolians, and Acaranans, or Acarnanians ; and all 
these are in Greece. As for Italy, there are the 
Umbrians, who are very ancient, and the Sabines, so 
famous in history ; and to all these we may add the 


or NATIONS, 


XV. 


12r> 


numerous and warlike nation of Che Celtae, settled 
for so many ages in Gaul. All these people, and 
some others which I have not named, have had 
their origin from the Titans and the Curetes, as 
will be seen hereafter. These Titans had those 
princes and kings before mentioned, for their chiefs 
and leaders: the most ancient and the most vera- 
cious historians affirm this, as well as the poets; 
and shall we after;all this suspect the truth of it ? 
Does not the Scripture itself confirm all these 
things, when it calls these princes giants, and the 
sons of the Titans, and assures us that they govern¬ 
ed the earth, and drove the kings of the nations 
from their thrones?* Imaginary men could not 
turn princes out of their dominions, and hurl them 
from their thrones ; add to all this, that the holy fa* 
thers of the church, who have unanimously contested 
for the true religion, and against the false divinity 
of Uranus, Saturn, and Jupiter, allow them to have 
been potent kings, and real princes, who anciently 
ruled on the earth, but at the same time reject them 
as false gods. We own with them the truth of their 
glorious actions, and the greatness of their power, 
as we do also the ridiculous fictions made of them 
and their false divinities. 


! Judith,c. Id. V, 6 . Isai. 14. v. 9. Juxta Hal}. & 70. 



130 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XV*. 


But, if after all that has been offered, any one is 
80 curious as to know who are those first and most 
ancient authors, that have written and spoken of the 
Titan kings, they shall be gratified in this particu¬ 
lar. 1 find, so far as I can penetrate into antiquity, 
that it was Orpheus among the Greeks, though he 
was originally a Thracian, and Sanchoniathon, 
among the Phoenicians, that were the first of any 
that spoke of the Titans, and both these lived be¬ 
fore the Trojan war, and wrote about thirteen hun¬ 
dred years before our Saviour was born. Hesiod and 
Homer came some ages after them, and afterwards a 
multitude of poets and historians appeared. But I 
forgot to observe, that long before Homer, and even 
Orpheus, the Curetes, the descendants of those who 
lived in the time of Saturn and Jupiter, had taught 
the Greeks and Tliracians, in like manner as the 
Salians did the Sabines in Italy, all that has been 
since written concerning the race of Titan princes, 
their genealogy, memorable actions, and the great- 
ness of their empire and dominion. These Curetes 
were the sages and philosophers of the Titans, and 
some of them of the blood-royal ; so that they were 
held in great esteem by the people, and had at 
least as much power as the Magi among the Per- 


\ 


CHAP. XV, OP NATIONS.' / 131 

sians; and might therefore be supposed to know 
what they said upon these subjects. 

Certainly Plato* who could not but know a great 
deal of these things, had reason to say in speaking 
of those whom he, with the rest of the ancient hea¬ 
thens, calls gods, that as to their birth and genea¬ 
logy, we are to give heed to what some men of old 
said : ‘ who being born or descended from them, 

‘ must know best, since they looked upon them to 
‘ be their fathers and grandfathers.* Priscis itaqus 
mris hac in re credendum^ qui DitSy ipsi dicebanty 
genitiy parentes suos optime noverant: ^ For,’ con¬ 
tinues this philosopher, ‘ it is impossible we should 
^ not gi?e credit to the children of the gods, though 
‘ what they affirmed were not made out by sound 
‘ or probable reasons.* These are the notions of 
Plato upon this subject. As for the rest, the chil¬ 
dren of these pretended deities were no other than 
tlie Titans and Curetes, many of whom lived in 
Greece, and especially in Eolia and Acanania, as 
also in Thrace and elsewhere, in the time of the 
Trojan war. Orpheus learnt from their own mouths 
what he wrote of their birth, succession, wars, ant 


^ Plato in Timaeo. 
K 2 





132 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XY. 


great actions, though he intermixed it with short fa¬ 
bles. But the Curetesand Titans preserved the re¬ 
membrance of all these things by verses and poems, 
which they could repeat by heart, because they had 
no other annals nor monuments in those days. And 
this indeed was a practice commonly used by all 
other nations of old. The Druids of Gaul and Bri¬ 
tain, who were the true successors of the Curetes, 
and preservers of their discipline, committed nothing 
in writing in the time of Caesar, and had no other 
records, than verses which they took great care to 
learn by heart. But to return to Orpheus, he not 
only consulted the Titans in these things, but in all 
appearance, was descended from them, because he 
himself calls them T/l^w IfAtliquv •jrfoyoyQi Id esfy 

Titanes patrum nostrorum progenitoresJ^ But 
had Orpheus said nothing of it, ancient authors 
have seen what has been written upon the subject 
by a celebrated man, a native of Crete, viz. Epi- 
menides; I mean him, who was Solon’s friend, and 
who flourished about the 45th or 46th Olympiad ; 
that is, about six hundred years before our Saviour 
was born. This man is called by St. Paul, who 
however does not expressly name him, one of the 


» Orph. fcymn. in Titanei. 


CHAP. XV. 


OF NATIONS. 


133 


prophets of the Cretans, awm 7:potp-n%s, Propru 
us ipsorum propJieta^* by which he meant one of 
their augurs. He was so in reality, and of great 
repute among them; besides which he passed amongst 
the Cretans for a Curetan, as we find by Diogenes 
Laertius, who wrote his life, and likewise by Plu- 
tarch. The first of these, upon the authority of 
Mironaeus says, that the Cretans were wont to call 
him Curetan, Kov^^lcx dJloy ixd^ow K^virsf^ Curetuni ipm 
sum appellabant CretensesJ’ It seems therefore that 
he was descended from the ancient Curetes of that 
island, and consequeiitly of the Celtick ones, and 
like them, he wore long hair, contrary to the cus¬ 
tom of the Cretans; and besides which, his body) 
had letters all over it and characters imprinted on it,^ 
and both these things were common to the Celtas or ! 
Gauls, and especially amongst the Druids, who ^ 
may be esteemed the disciples and imitators of the j 
ancient Curetes. But if Epimenides were not a Cure-| 
tan by descent, he was at least one of that sect, and 
knew perfectly well every thing that belongeil to it, 
insomuch, that the author of his life says, he wrote 
five thousand verses concerning the origin of the 
Curetes and Corybantes, and of their g. ds. Dio- 

* Epist. at Tit. c. 1. V. 12, 

» Laer. vita Epim. Plut. in vit, Ep’m. Solon. 


134 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CUAY, XV. 


dorus Siculus had seen this work, and made some 
use of it, as he insinuates in his history. Where¬ 
fore it is very plain, that Epimenides being a Cure- 
tan, either by sect or descent, he could not but 
know who the Titans were, from whom these last 
were descended. 




CHAP. XVI, 


OF nations. 


135 


< 

CHAP. XVI. 


Of the People of Greece^ the Descendants of the 

Titans, 


XH E laws, sciences, and curious arts amongst the 
Grecians, in conjunction with their eloquence and 
politeness, have gained them such a reputation among 
other nations, that they are still admired not for 
their present pre-eminence, but for their former 
glory ; and therefore as the opinions which have 
been entertained of them, and that justly too, have 
been great, and much to their honor, they will 
hardly allow it to be believed that they have had 
their very first beginnings, so far at least as we can 
learn from history, from barbarous nations. The 
Greek writers however, must ei her be cliarged 
with being the inventors of lies, or this truth must 
be owned and received. Let us begin with the isle 
of Crete, which w as the usual residence of Jupiter, 
that great prince, of whom we have spoken so 


136 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XVI. 


much, and whom the Greeks under the name of 
A/V, have held in such reverence, as to become 
guilty of superstition and idolatry, and to make him i 
the greatest of their gods. 

When Herodotus, who is the most ancient his¬ 
torian now extant, speaks of this island, he ingenu¬ 
ously confesses, that at first it was entirely under 
the dominion of the barbarians; T»j» hyov to 
votXaiovTrSLaxv Baf|S«po/, id est, Cretum antiquitus iinU 
versam Barbari ienuerc. He also plainly inti¬ 
mates, that they were masters and possessors of it 
in the time of IMinos, that is, of the first that was 
known by this name ; for there was another Minos, 
who reigned in Crete but a hundred and thirty 
years after him : and in all tliis Herodotus is right, 
for the first Minos began to reign in this island 
above fourteen hundred years before our Saviour’s 
birth. 

He was the son of Asterius and Europa, who 
passed for Phonicians : but for Asterius he was 
a true Greek, and the son of Teutame or Tectame. 
This person quilting Thessaly, went into Crete with 
a body of Eolians and Pelasgians, and managed 
his affairs there so well, that he obtained the sove- 




CHAP. XVI. 


OF NATIONS. 


137 


reignty of the island. It was in this manner that 
the Grecians became masters of Crete, where the 
Titan race of princes of Jupiter’s blood had reign* 
cd above eight hundred years. All these princes 
called themselves the sons of Jupiter, because they 
regarded him as their ancestor ; nay, Minos himself, 
though a Greek by descent, and consequently of 
another race, yet called himself his son ; and we 
arc assured that the following words' were ordered 
to be engraven upon his tomb. This is the Sepul¬ 
chre of Minos^ the son of Jupiter.^ Wherefore it 
is certain from the authority of history, that the 
.Grecians had in a manTier nothing to do with Crete 
before the time of Tectarae, the grandfather of Mi¬ 
nos. Previous to this period it was in the hands 
of strangers and barbarians, according to Hero¬ 
dotus, Cretam antiquitus universam Barhari fe- 
nuere,^ 

Now if we would know who these barbarians were, 
Diodorus Siculus, who had read all that the ancient 
historians had written concerning this famous 
island, will tell us that those people which were cal¬ 
led Eleo^Cretes, were reputed to be the first and 

1 Scbol. Callim. hymn, 

2 Herodot, Ib, 


13S 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XVI. 


most ancient inhabitants. Qui Cretam incolunt 
omnium vetustissimas apud se extitisse asserunt 
Eleo^Cretas^A^^xiolxrns ui^dis yino^xt ths oyo^a^*- 

fAiW ^Elto.x^r^xs'J they were also said to be abori¬ 
gines, i. e. born in the country, and not coining 
from any where else: but that is a mistake, for 
they came from Peloponcsus, it being from that 
part of Greece that the first inhabitants of Crete 
had their origin. Next to the Eleo-Cretes, the 
most ancient people of this island were the Dactyli 
Idaai, who were thus called from mount Ida, where 
they resided, whence the same Diodorus says, Pri» 
miy ergOy quorum sane memoria apud nos venity 
Cretw IncolcSy Jdwi dactyliy l5aro/ Adi^iXoi^fuerey ad 
montem Idam hahitantes* 

Next to these Diodorus places the Curetes as the 
most ancient inhabitants. Post Idasos DaefyloSy 
Curetas novem extilissey iradunt historiccy ‘laTo- 
fao-/ ytvi^xt >c8§v}xs Ivdx. He also adds «ij^ncerning 
the Curetes, that sonic believed them to be born of 
the earth, Esse terrigenasy TnytnTs' and others said 
that they were the decendants of the Dactyli Idaei, 
ab Dactylis esse oriendos ; and further, that these 

3 Diod. Sic. I. 5. p. 333. &c. 


CHAP. XVI. 


* OF NATIONS. 


U9 


Curetes dwelt in mountains, woods, and rough and 
inaccessible places, and that they lay in the hollows 
i of valleys, and the like places of shelter and retire- 
j raent, because they had no houses in those times ; 
to which our author also adds that the Cretans con¬ 
sidered those people who were called Titans, to be 

I 

i contemporary with the Curetes. Memorant Cre^ 

1 ienses^quo tempore Curetes vivehantyTitanes quoque 

I 

I extitisse, Tsvio^xi kxtx rov Kov^’nrov n^ixlxv rSs 
I rfidvxs I That these Titans lived about the 

i city of Gnossus, and that they still shewed them 
the ruins of the houses w here Rhea, the wife of Sa¬ 
turn, lived. Lastly, this historian assures us, that 
it was a tradition among the Cretans, that most of 
the gods, that is, of those, who by their famous 
actions had been enrolled among the number of the 
gods, and had acquired an immortal name, were born 
in that island; Plerosque deos^ rov QiuvrSs 
Apud se natos perhihent. By which gods he meant 
i Saturn, Jupiter, Teutat or Mercury, &c. who were 
I of the Titan race. This is a summary account of 
all that the ancient historians have written about 
Crete, with regard to the first inhabitants of that 
island; of which, generally speaking, they have 
said nothing but what was true, at least somewhat 
near the truth : but they have involved the whole 
in a degree of confusion, doubt, and uncertainty. 








140 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XMh 


It is certain the Eleo-Cretes were the first 
inhabitants of this famous and fine island, the words 
themselves signifying the true Cretans, or the first 
of any that peopled the island : but they came ori¬ 
ginally from Greece, and that part of it called Pe¬ 
loponnesus: the other inhabitants of Crete, men. 
tioned by Diodorus, and styled Dactyli Idaji and 
Ciiretes, were really barbarians and strangers, but 
not a different people from the Titans, saving that 
the Dactyli Idaei and the Curetes were their divi¬ 
ners, priests, and sacrificers, who, like the Druids, 
their successors, retired into the thickest woods and 
most rugged mountains, where they had caves and 
other recesses to live in. 

It is easy to see from what has been here said 
from Diodorus, that the Titans were masters of 
Crete from the first ages of antiquity ; that the 
princes of this nation reigned there under the name 
of gods, and that the same was done by their pos¬ 
terity for eight hundred years successively, that is, 
to the time of Tectame, or his grandson Minos. 
These Titans, who were before called SaCce,were not 
originally Grecians, because they came from the 
provinces of Upper Asia, towards Media and Bac- 
triana j so that according to the language of the 


CHAP. XVI. 


OF NATIONS. 


141 


Greeks, they were strangers and barbarians; and 
hence Herodotus says, that the isle of Crete, from 
the very beginning was subject to barbarians. It was 
not indeed only under their dominion, but conti¬ 
nued so for many ages under a long succession of 
princes and kings, all descended from Jupiter, and 
the ancient Titan race. Is there now therefore any 
cause to wonder that the Cretan language was so 
singular and so different from that of the other 
Girecians; for besides its being rough, heavy, and 
unpolished, it must needs be full of words, received 
from these ancient barbarians, who were so long in 
possession of the island : and as therefore the lan- 
ffuase of the Titans and Curetes, could be no other 
than the Celtick, I am not surprised to find that the 
Cretans retained many of the words, which are even 
to this day found in the language of the Celt* 
since called Gauls. 






THE ANTIQUITIEg 


CHAP. XVII. 


m 



CHAP. XVII. 


T'hat the Spartans or Lacedemonians came from 

the Celtce, 

HE origin of those people, who hare been most 
famous for their great actions, and most renowned 
in history, is often the most obscure and uncertain. 
This, in some measure, may be said of those who 
have been so well known to the world by the name 
of Spartans, or rather Lacedemonians, It is known 
that these people lived in the earliest ages, in the 
most southern part of the Peloponnesus,between the 
Argians, Arcadians, and Messenians; and as their 
territories lay to the south, bordering upon the Sea, 
we may say, that of all the inhabitants or nations 
of Greece, they were the nearest to the isle of Crete. 
Their habitations have been always fixed and cer¬ 
tain, for they never changed their country : but we 
cannot say the same concerning their origin. I am 


CHAP. XVII. 


OF NATIONS, 


143 


I 

1 

not indeed prepared to assort, considering how ob* 
scure and uncertain the fact is, that they were not 
; originally Grecians. I should wrong them in so 
! doing, for they came from Javan or Jaon, who, ac¬ 
cording to Scripture, was the father of the Greeks, 
because they descended from his son Elisa, who in 
i ancient times had for his share that part of that coun¬ 
try, since known by the name of Peloponnesus: itis 
j therefore indubitable, that they were originally 
i Grecians, though, as I have observed before, they 
I were some ages after, viz. about the latter days of 
Terah, the father of Abraham, oppressed by bar¬ 
barous nations, who having seized Phrygia, and 
the neighbouring countries, quickly made them¬ 
selves masters of all Greece, and at the same time 
of the isle of Cyprus, 

By these barbarians who came from Phrygia, I • 
mean no other than the Titans, who under Uranus 
the father of Saturn, and the grandfather of Jupiter, 
having invaded Greece, carried their conquests as 
far as Gaul and Spain. These Titans having then 
by their valour and numbers seized on Greece, it 
is not to be doubted that they overran Peloponnesus, 
which is the finest and richest part of it, and con¬ 
sequently must make themselves masters of Laconia, 









144 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP, xrii. 


xs well as all the other provinces; and all that 1 
have advanced, when speaking of Saturn and Ju¬ 
piter, is a manifest proof of it: and here we are to 
observe, that as there were at that time none, or 
but very few towns in Greece, (for besides Lyco- 
sura, in Arcadia I find none so ancient,) these 
barbarous, but victorious people, ranged up and 

down the woods and forests, or lived in caves, and 

# 

the hollows of mountains and rocks. 

They were, in fact, dispersed up and down in 
such a manner in Laconia, for so was that country 
then called, that these barbarians had the name of 
Spartans, or dispersed given them. But when I 
say this of these people, I do not take upon me to 
affirm that they were the only people that went by 
this name: for, on the contrary, I believe that the 
same was also given to the first inhabitants of this 
country; but as they were dispersed and intermixed 
with the other, they were also comprehended under 
the same name, without any distinction or differ¬ 
ence; at least I can find nothing among the ancients 
that can otherwise inform me. Such, as near as 
may be, was the state of Laconia, in the beginning 
of Saturn’s reign, that is, while Abraham was yet 
in the land of Canaan, and some time after the birth 


CUAP. XVII. 


OF NATIONS. 


145 


of Isaac. If all I have said with regard to the ac¬ 
tions of this first king of the Titans, and those of 
his son Jupiter, be not enough to convince people; 
that they and their subjects were absolute masters of 
Peloponnesus; there is yet something more to be of¬ 
fered, which must remove all manner of doubt of it. 
The Titan princes, with the Curetes, were the first 
founders of those famous S})orts, called the Olym- 
pick games. I know many will consider what I 
say in this particular, as impertinent and ridiculous: 

1 

' what, say they, must the Olympick games, those 
i famous sports, peculiar only to the Greeks, w'hich 
( were invented entirely for their pleasure and glory, 

[ and celebrated with so much care and pomp, owe 
their institution to the Titans, an unknown and 
barbarous people, from whom the Ccltae or Gauls 
are said to be descended? it is what can never be 
believed, and cannot enter into our thoughts. But 
why may it not be believed? Why may this not 
enter into men’s thoughts, provided wc attest it 
hy the most learned Greeks, and shew that it 
I has been taken notice of by the most ancient au- 
i thorities amongst them ? If they had been the Ti¬ 
tans or Celta?, that had pretended to these things, 
they might have been suspected in the matter; but 
I tliey are Grecians themselves that say and write 

i 

I 

I 






146 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. xvn. 


them, in order to be transmitted to posterity--: 
in not believing them, therefore, we do them an in¬ 
jury, and appear to be more jealous of their glory,, 
than they themselves have been. 

But Pausanias who with much care and exact¬ 
ness has written the most memorable things' relat¬ 
ing to-Greece, when he speaks of the Olympick 
games, says expressly, that the people of Elis,' 
who best know the antiquity of them, affirmed that 
:the Dactyli Id®i, who were otherwise called Curetes, 
and were intrusted with the education of Jupiter, 
came, in the .reign of Saturn, from Crete into the 
country of Elis; that there were five brothers of 
them, of whom the eldest, named Hercules, first 
proposed the game of running to them, and that he 
who won should be crowned with wild olive. Pau¬ 
sanias intermixes many other things with the ac¬ 
count he gives us, which I shall pass over in silence. 
After which, he adds, the first inventor then of these 
Olympick games was Hercules Id®us, according to* 
the relation given by the Eleans, Auctor igitur is» 
iorum ludorum Hercules Idceus celebratur* Soon 
after, wrestling was added to that of running ; and 
the same author assures us from the authority of 


J Paus. 1.5. quiest Eliacor 1. 


eiiAP. XVII. 


OF NATIONS. 


147 


history, that Jupiter in these public games had 
wrestled with his father Saturn, and that the Caretcs 
were the first that ran at them. In ludis Oli/mpicis 
Jovem cumSaturno luctatum 6^ Curetasprimo cur- 
su certasse, tnemorice proditum est,^ He says at 
last, tl»at though the institution of these games w as 
so very ancient and obscure, as to mount up to the 
first ages of antiquity; yet he would not pretend 
therefore to call the same into question. 

But what makes me believe that the Dactyli Id;ci, 
or the Curetes, were the first institutors of these 
games, is, because there was in the famous and mag« 
nificent temple of Jupiter Oiympius, whence these 
games were denominated, being the place where 
they were celebrated, besides those altars conse¬ 
crated to the gods, one dedicated to the Curetes; 
that is, to Hercules Idrnus and his four brothers.® 
They were therefore the Curetes or Titans, who 

t 

were really the first institutors of these games, which 
became afterwards so famous; and this is the more 
likely, because the CeKae, their descendants, use 
even to this day no exercises more commonly than 
running and wrestling; but if the testimony of 


2 Pans. 1. 8. qui est de Arcadicorura. 
* Idem. 1. 


v 2 



148 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XTII, 


Pausanias ho not sufficient for the confirming of this 
truth, that of Diodorus Siculus^ may be added to 
it, who, speaking of the D.ictyli Idaei, says, that 
one of them, named Hercules, w'ho had made him¬ 
self famous by his great actions, had instituted the 
Olympick games, and that posterity, being mis¬ 
taken, on account of the similarity of the name, 
had attributed it to another Hercules, the son of 
Alcmeiie, who lived long after him. 

These Dactyli Idaei, who, according to Pausa- 
nias, were also called Curetes, were of the race of 
the Titans, Quia alio nomine Curetes appellati 
sunty and the Titans had entirely seized on Pelo¬ 
ponnesus, as well as the rest of Greece; and if they 
had not been absolute masters of the country, how 
could they have instituted the Olympick games ? 
Having therefore invaded this fine province, they 
possessed themselves of Laconia; and having after¬ 
wards ranged up and down, they acquired the 
forementioned name of Spartans, or dispersed. 
When llhea, the wife of Saturn, was delivered of 
Jupiter in Arcadia, upon Mount Lycaeus, near the 
erty of Lycosura, she ordered the Curetes and Spar- 


* Diodor. Hist. 1, 5. p. 335, 



CHAP. XVII. 


OF NATIONS. 


149 - 


tans to take care of him, and forthwith to carry 
him into the isle of Crete. They complied with the 
orders of that princess, and having transported the 
ciiild tliither, bred him up on mount Scyileta, as a 
place of security. "EvOx^xa-i xTioOsaOxt ijiim 

la Toy ZTTu^txrov Toy A.'js, Ibi autem Curetas cum Spar- 
tianis^ Jovem deposuisse^^ they had Spartans there¬ 
fore at that time there. It is manifest they had as¬ 
sociated themselves with the Curetes, and that all 
of them were under the dominion of Saturn, and 
his w'ife Rhea : they must, therefore, be Titans, or 
at least a people that had intermixed with them, that 
now bore the name of Spartans. 

Again, when Saturn many years after this was 
defeated by his own son, and not only driven out 
of Crete, but also out of all Greece, the Spartans 
would not forsake their king and lord; tiiey fol- 
lowed his fortune, at least many of them did so, to 
Italy, and there found a safe retreat for him. This 
we have from Julius Firinicus, who, speaking oX 
the flight of Saturn, says, IItc Ci'^ta fugiens in Ita¬ 
lia a Spartanis absconditur,^ Wc shall see here¬ 
after, that Firinicus was not mistaken'in this matter, 

5 Steph. Byzan. l.M'Kkidiot, 

* Jul. Firmic, l.de hnor. Prof. Rcl. 


150 


TUE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XVII. 


and that from thenceforwards the Spartans of Pelo¬ 
ponnesus had always great,affinity with the people 
of Italy, and especially with the Sabines and Urn- 
brians. 

Those Spartans, who were dispersed up and down 

Laconia, and intermixed with the Grecians, or the 

« 

ancient inhabitants, in process of time, having had 
a meeting together, agreed to build a city, that so 
they might coalesce into a body for their better se¬ 
curity. They called the place Sparta, according to 
the name they themselves bore, and not according 
to that of one Spartus, the son of Amyclantes, and 
the grandson of Leleges, as the Greeks assert. In 
confirmation of this we have the authority of Ste. 
phen of Byzantium, who had consulted the ancient 
authors about it. He says the city of Lacedemoii 
was the most famous of any in Peloponnesus lEaruin^ 
que in Feloponneso sunt clarissima its first name 
was Sparta, -n T.'uoifv vpolspov, Sparta prim appella^ 
batur vel a Sparta Amijclantis fdio^ vel quod Lele-> 
gesy AUeytsy qui omniumprimt earn urbem incoluercy 
antea Sparsiy in cundem locum convene* 

rinty aique unam Jcccrint habitationem. This is 

^ j?teph, V, AtiKi 


CHAP. XVII. 


OF nations. 


15X 


what Stephen says, and the same is confirmed by 
the learned- Eustathius in his Commentaries upon 
the second.book of Ilomer^s Iliad.® They were the 
Spartans then, wbo were otherw ise called Leleges, 
that first founded this city, about two hundred 
years before Jupiter’s death, and some years after 
the children of Israel went into Egypt, according 
to Eusebius’s chronicle.® 

Here we arc to observe, that the Spartans, calli 
ed Z-jrafl/aTa;, CSpartiatcej: hy the Grecians, bore 
also the name of Leleges. But besides these two 
very ancient names, we find they had also that of 
Laconians, in Greek Laconcs, from which 

in time (hey made that of Lacedemonians, 

and AxHs^atixoiiQij id esi^ Lacedceinones sive Lu* 
cedeemonii ; and it is manifest from ancient history, 
bow well they were known by this last name in 
the world, they having obtained immortal honour, 
by their great and glorious actions.. 

Indeed, it is amusing enough to seo^what pains- 
(he Greeks take to discover the origin of these last 
three names: i mean those of Leleges, Laconians, 

*Enstat. Comment, in I. 2. Iliad. 

9 Kus. (Jhroa. p. 68. in Lat, 


J52 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XVII. 


and Lacedemonians. But not to dwell upon wliat 
they say, which, in my opinion, is little to the pur¬ 
pose, I am almost confident, that notwith*standing 
the apparent difference between them, they all sig¬ 
nify the same thing, and in our language are tan¬ 
tamount to cryers^ damourers^ or ba<xlers^ in Latin 
damosi or vodfera?ites ; and they were called thus, 
because whether they were in war, or hunting, 
which in time of peace was a common and frequent 

exercise with them, or lastly, when they invoked 

% 

their deities, for they had a great number of augurs, 
enchanters, and magicians among them, they cried 
out, or made a bawling in the plains, woods and 
mountains. If what I now say should be doubted, 
1 am ready to produce such proofs for it, as will 
give more satisfaction than all tlic trifles the Greeks 
would obtrude upon us; and here it may be ob¬ 
served, that the Fauni did almost the same thing 
among the Latins in Italy, as the Lacedemonians 
did among the ancient Greeks of Peloponnesus, 

Having said so much concerning the Spartans or 
Lacedemonians, not to mention tlie other two 
names, it is not to be doubted that these people, who 
lived so early under the government of Saturn and 
Jupiter^ intermingled^ and were almost confounded 


CHAP, XVII, 


OF NATIONS. 


153 


with the Titans; and as the Celtae, ■who afterwards 
settled in Gaul, were descended from these Titans, 
it is not strange that the Spartans sliould have such 
laws, manners and customs as the Celtae had; for I 
shall say nothing at present of the languages of 
these two people, which in an infinite number of 
words are like one another. But lest my reader 
should imagine that I arn making unfounded asser¬ 
tions, if I do not adduce proofs in support of them, 
I shall shew in how many things the Lacedemonians 
and Titans agree and resemble one another: and 
to those who are curious in antiquity, nothing can 
be more interesting than to know that these two 
people were formerly intermixed, and came, at least 
in part; from the same stock and origin. 






154 .. 


THE ANTIQUITIES CHAP. XYHIi- 


CHAP. XVIil. 


Of the conformity there is beizoeenthe Spartans andi 

Titans, 

In the first place the Lacedemonians wore their 
hair long, floating down upon their shoulders, and 
which was contrary to the custom of the Atheni¬ 
ans and other Grecians, who. wore theirs short; 
and hence Plato in a w ay of raillery calls them Spar^ 
tiochaiteSj that is, long-haired Spartans. In this 
they imitated the TUans and Curetes, who^were af¬ 
terwards followed in this custom by the Gauls, 
thence called Comati or Hairy by the Homans. 

In the next place, the true Greeks went bare¬ 
headed, and in time of need covered themselves with 
the lappet of their robe or vest, but the Lacede¬ 
monians wore a small cap, or rather a round bon¬ 
net, like the half of an egg-shell: the Celtae did the 

same anciently, and their descendants still continue 

% 

it, especially in some parts of Br etagne. 


CHAP. XVIII. 


OF NATIONS, 


155 


The Lacedemonians loved short cloaths, the Cel- 
tae did the same, and this, on account of their be¬ 
ing accustomed to the exercises of running, hunting, 
and to war, which w’cre common to both nations: 
but it is farther to be noted, that the Lacedemoni- 
ans had scarlet or purple borders upon their cloaths, 
which they called Jopater, because that in all ap¬ 
pearance they had been in vogue among the Titans, 
from the days of Jupiter: and it is certain that the 
Gauls had the like upon their coats or jackets, both 
in time of peace and war, as may be seen by the 

authority of several ancient authors. 

* 

i 

j 

Let us now come to things relating to^ war. 
Every body knows that the Spartans had a very 
strong inclination to arms and warlike exploits, and 
hence, in fact, they have acquired so much glory 
as will never perish as long as the world endures. 
We may also boldly say, war was the greatest de¬ 
light of the Gauls, and that it was by arms they 
performed so many great actions, which made them 
formidable to the Romans, who were feared, and 
even dreaded by all the world. 

The arms of the Lacedemonians were a head- 
piece, shield, lance or javelin. To these they ad- 






156 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XVIII. 


lied a little short sword, very much resembling 
a bayonet; in all which they did not vary from 
the Titans and Celfae, who were well acquainted 
with these sorts of arms. 

The next point of similarity is very remarkable : 
when the Spartans went to give battle, their poets 
marched before them, and sung songs to encourage 
them to go on. The bards, which were the poets 
of the Gauls, and, as it were, their Curctes, did 
the same thing, when they vvere ready to fight. 

If, by misfortune, the Spartans happened to be 
beaten, their maxim was rather to die with their arms 
in their hands, than to be made prisoners by the ene- 
.my; and this was the usual practice of the Gauls. 

It was a peculiar custom of the Lacedemonians, 
not to fight till after the full of the moon, at least 
unless they were forced to it; and this was de¬ 
rived to them from very ancient times which they 
- must have received from the Titanes and Curetes, 
who had also a great regard to the full moon. ^ 

They made verses, and sung the praises of great 
men, who had signalized themsedves by some glo- 










CHAP. XVIII. 


OF NATIONS. 


157 


rions actions in war: this was the exact practice of 
the Celtas, and the main business of their poets, 
■who were called bards and scalds by the north¬ 
ern nations. 

The Spartans capered, and, with their arms on, 
danced the Pyrrhick dance; it is very plain that 
they learnt this military practice from the Ciiretes, 
who invented it, and hence it was that the Latins 
gave these people the name of Salians, because they 
capered and danced like the Curetes. 

In ancient times the Lacedemonians made no other 
promulgation of their laws than by singing them, 
at least those which related to war; and hence it 
was that laws were by the Greeks called No/xo/, no* 
mes^ that is, songs, "Aa-^ocioc ,; the Celtai did the 
same things as Aristotle somewhere observes in his 
works. ‘ 

The Lacedemonians -w'ere not given to learning; 
no more were the ancient Celtje ; both the one and 
the other of them were satisfied with getting their 
songs or verses by heart; w hich served for their re¬ 
cords, they being in a manner all they had. 


158 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XTIII* 


When they would have any thing made known 
OT publick, they wrote it upon along and polished 
stick,, like a cylinder, which they called scytale ; 
and this was in use among the Ccltae and other north- 
cm nations. 

As for the food of the Spartans, in which parti, 
cular they were very abstemious, I find boiled pork 
to be their ordinary dish, and so it is even to this 
day the great dish of the descendants of the Celts, 
who have preserved most of their ancient customs; 
and let me add by the way, that the Spartans call- 
,cda swine. Sic, in Greek 2/xa, and the Cel(ae or 
their posterity, even now when they hunt that ani. 
mal, use no other word than Sic, 

The Spartans were great lovers of pottage, made • 
of millet, and it is still a thing much used by the 
descendants of the Celtae; and here it is proper to 
be observed, that the Spartans called milleC'EAt/M,©-, 
Elf/mus; which name came from Lym^ the Ccltick 
name for it. 

We are farther to observe, that the Lacedemo¬ 
nians had large dogs, not only for hunting, but 


<CHAP. XVIII. 


OF NATIONS. 


159 


also to watch their houses, a custom, which, from 
ancient times has been preserved by the Celtae. 

The Lacedemonians, that they might make their 
-children hardy, robust, and hale, were wont to wash 
them in cold springs of water, and we read that 
Jupiter was served so, when firstborn: the an¬ 
cient Celtae used the same practice in respect to their 
own children. 

Lastly, for it would be endless to enumerate 
every particular, the Lacedemonians made it a mat¬ 
ter of religion from time to time to offer a man in 
-sacrifice to their God Mars, in which the Celtae did 
not differ from them, except that they gloried in 
offering many human sacrifices. 

These, in my mind, are very singular and re¬ 
markable things, and, should we read the history 
of the Athenians and other Grecians, we should 
find their manners, customs, and other usages, not 
like these of the Lacedemonians; which on the 
contrary, were, and are still at least in part, 
used by the posterity of the ancient Gauls. What 
then is to be inferred from all this, but that the 


160 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XVIII. 


Celtac and the Lacedcmoniatis had their origin from 
the same people, who w^erc the ancient Titans ? And 
hence also it is that we fin I several words in the La¬ 
conian tongue, or rather in the remains of it, which 
are evidently taken from the Celtick language, 
which still subsists in some parts of France, and in 
Wales, notwithstanding the revolutions of many 
ages of the world. Without the help of this lan¬ 
guage we should be unable to explain the greatest 
part of the different names, given by the ancient 
Spartans to their gods and goddesses, and more par¬ 
ticularly to Apollo and Diana ; but with their know¬ 
ledge, it will be found no hard matter, at least in 
respect to many of them. 

These are manifest, and even convincing proofs, 
that the first Spartans or Lacedemojiians, wlio were 
true Greeks by descent, have, in process of time, 
been intermixed and confounded with the Titans and 
Curetes, from whom came afterwards the people, 
called Celtae or Gauls. But the Cretans and 
Lacedemonians were not the only people of Greece, 
that came from the Ciiretes, We find in ancient 
history that the Etolians and Acarnanans, or 
Acariianians, were descended from them; read 



CHAP, XVIII, 


OF NATIONS 


\6l 

Strabo upon this subject, anil it 'will immedU 
ately be evident that I have advanced herein no¬ 
thing but what is consonant to truth. But enough 
of the people of Greece; let us corae now to those 
of Italy. 




16 % 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XIX* 


CHAP. XIX. 


That the Umbrians were by the Ancients taken to 

be Celtce or Gauls* 

Ti lOSE who have written concerning the people 
of Italy, and have said any thing respecting the an¬ 
tiquity of them, seem to put the Umbrians in the 
number of those who first possessed this part of 
Europe ; though there are others who hold the con¬ 
trary ; but as in consequence of the obscurity of 
those past ages of the world, we can have no dis¬ 
tinct knowledge of this, little can be said upon it. 
If my opinion were explicitly asked, I should give 
it in favour of the Ausones or Ausonians: but be 
this as it may, it is certain that the settlement of 
the Umbrians in Italy, is so remote and ancient, 
that the beginning of it cannot be discovered. Let 
ns however, if possible, penetrate into this thick 
cloud, and see if by any probable conjectures we 
can find what ancient history was a stranger to, or 
at least has hidden from our view. 


CHAP. XIX. 


OP NATIONS. 


163 


In treating before of Uranus, the father of Sa¬ 
turn, and the grandfather of Jupiter, I have shewn, 
not from vain conjecture, but upon theauthority of 
ancient records, that he carried his arms from the 
regions of Asia Minor, where he dwelt at his 
father’s death, and conquered the countries of Eu¬ 
rope even to the utmost bounds of them. And 
could he go so far without entering into Italy, and 
annexing that rich and pleasant country to all his 
other conquests ? AH' this could not be done with¬ 
out sending new colonies thither, as well to manure 
the ground as to keep the inhabitants in subjection. 
Have we not therefore reason to believe that Uranus 
sent Titans thither, who possessed all the country 
adjoining to the Tiber and the Appennine hills, 
which has since had the name of Umbria; and if 
Uranus did not send this colony into Italy, it must 
have been done in the time of Saturn. For how 
could he in the war he had with his son, after his 
defeat seek for refuge in a country, where he did 
not know, or had not some confidence in the people^ 
and who perhaps owed to him their settlement ? 
There must, therefore, have been Titans settled there 
either in his or his father’s reign ; and he must needs 
have great confidence in them, that he should retire 
among them for his security and protection from 

M 2 



164 the antiquities chap. xix. 

the violences that his son would hare oifcred to 
him. 

We learn from an ancient author, that when Sa. 
turn took refuge in this part of Italy, he was con¬ 
veyed thither by the Spartans of Peloponnesus : 5‘«- 
turnus ex Creta fugiens^ in Italia a Spartnnis ab- 
sconditur. There is reason to believe that these 
Spartans, who, as I said before, were also called 
Laconians, intermingled with the Umbrians, and 
from thenceforward made bfit one people : for we 
find in the ancient glossaries, that a Laconian and 
an Umbrian is the same thing. Aaxwv, Loco, Um¬ 
ber ; and hence perhaps it is that the Sabines, who 
came from the Umbrians, have been always looked 
upon to be a colony of Spartans or Lacedemonians, 
as we shall see hereafter. It is therefore likely from 
what I have said, that several of the Titans, in the 
reign of Uranus, or at least in that of Saturn, stay¬ 
ing and fixing themselves in that part of Italy, which 
is adjacent to the Tiber and the Appennines, were 
afterwards called Umbrians. If such were the 
case, as it seems it was, this settlement of the Titans 
in Italy was made about the time of the calling of 
Abraham, that is, when he left Chaldea to go and 
dwell in the land of Canaan. 


CHAP. XIX. 


OF NATIONS. 


166 


These things being premised, it is no matter of 
astonishment to find ancient authors, who have 
treated of Umbria, or rather the Umbrians its inha¬ 
bitants, unanimously agree that they were a very 
ancient nation. ' Umbriy says Florus, antiquissi* 
mus lialice populus,' Pliny confirms the same 
thing, viz. that the Umbrians were looked upon to 
be the oldest people of Italy. Umbrorum gens 
aniiquissima lialice existimatur.^ This is so mani. 
fest, that Dionysius of Halicarnassus assures us, 
that when the Pelasgi came from Greece into Italy, 
some time after the deluge of Deucalion, that is, 
about 1500 years before our Saviour’s nativity, the 
I Umbrians were then possessed of a great part of 
I Italy : for, adds he, it was a very great and very 
ancient nation.^ Habitabant tunc UmbriySf alios muU 
tos Italics agroSy eratque ea gens multum antiqua 
et ampla* This nation had anciently extended itself 
so far, that it possessed above a third of Italy, and 

I among the rest all Umbria and Tuscany ; and Pliny 
observes that when the Hetrurians came into Italy, 
they made war against them for a long time, and 
I took and destroyed above three hundred of their 

’ Flor. 1. l.,c. 17. 

* Plin. 1. 3. c. 14. 

* Dionys. Hal, 1. 1. 



166 


I 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XlX, 


cities, Trecenta torum oppida Thusci debellasse 
reperiuntury 

✓ 

This therefore was a nation not only very an¬ 
cient, Gens antiquissima Italice^ but also very po¬ 
tent and extensive, that fixed itself in the middle of 
Italy above 1500 years before Rome was built. 
Should I simply say what I believe, that it was a 
Celtick or Gaulish nation, I might be ridiculed as 
one who strove to invent fictions, but if I shall 
bring ancient authors, and such whose integrity is 
not called in question, to avouch it, I hope there 
will be no room left to reproach me for it. When 
Solinus speaks of the Umbrians,^ he says, upon the 
credit of Bocchus, the historian, that the Umbrians 
came from the ancient race of the Gauls. Bocchusab- 
solvity Gallorum veterum propaginem Umbros esse : 
If it should be objected that Solinus is mistaken 
in this as well as in many other things, let us see 
what Servius has written upon this occasion in his 
excellent Commentaries upon the twelfth book of the 
£neid, where he confirms what Solinus says in these 
words Sune Utnbros Gallorum veterum propa* 

> 

♦ PI in. Hist. Nat. 1. 3. c. 14. 

5 Solin. c. 8, 

® Serv, 1. u. 


CHAP. XIX. 


OF NATIONS. 


167 


' gineme esse, Marcus Antonins refert. All which 
is supported by the authority of Isidore, bishop of 
Seville, who, speaking of the Umbrians in his Ori- 
gines, says in the ninth book, the Umbrians are a 
nation from Italy, but descended from- the ancient 
Gauls. Umhri, Italics gens est, sed Gallorum 
veterum propago.^ 

\ 

• To all these authors let us add the Scholiast of 
Lyco phron, who does not differ much in opinion 
from them, but says, that the Umbrians are a sort 
of Gauls, *'0[ji.(3poi raAala/y, TJmbrt GalloTUtH - 

genus,^ This Greek Scholiast, who was the 

learned Tzetzes, seems to have spoken more cor¬ 
rectly than the Roman authors; for it is certain that 
the Umbrians were not properly descended from the 
Gauls, that is, from that race of people, that a long 
time after settled in Gaul ; for the other was in 
Italy, before these last had possessed themselves of 
the western provinces of Europe. 

The Umbrians therefore were a nation similar to 
the Celtae or Gauls, that came from the same stock 

» Isid. 1. 9. c. 2. 

® Tzetzes, Schol. p. 199. 


168 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XIZ. 


and origin, viz. from the Titans, and had the same 
customs and language. And this is what the Rumaa 
authors mean, when they say the Umbrians were 
of Gaulish race, Gallorum velerum propagintm 
essc.^ 


’ Servms, ib. 



CHIP. XX. 


OF NATIONS. 


169 


CHAP. XX. 


2 hat the Sabines were (he Descendants of the Um» 
brians and Spartans. 


X HOSE who are at all conversant with antiquity, 
know very well that the Sabines had once a great 
name in Italy, both on account of their illustri¬ 
ous actions, which made (hem famous, and of the 
different people that came from them. My design 
at present however, is not to treat of these their 
descendants, that being foreign to our purpose: 
I shall only say that the learned Cluverius, who 
has written so well concerning the ancient people 
of Italy, is mistaken in some places, and more par¬ 
ticularly, when he says, that the Sabines came from 
the Opiqui, w horn he pretends to be the same as the 
Ausones or Ausonians, and upon which he ha.s 
made two false remarks ; for in the first place the 
Sabines were not descended from the Osci, which 
name the Greeks have softened into that of Opiqui, 


170 the antiquities chap. xx. 

/ 

and in the second, these Osci or Opiqui, were a 
Tery different people from the Ausones. Elian 
however is right, in assuring us, that the Ausones 
were the first inhabitants of Italy, and that they 
were the true indigenes.* T^v IrxXtxv Yl^uloi 

''Avaovss, xvlo^OovBs; Itolidm omnium 'primi inhahita* 
runt Ausones^ indigence. It is true they were 
the first inhabitants of this rich country, but 
they were not there from the very beginning of the 
first ages, for they came originally from that part of 
Greece, since called Peloponnesus : being therefore - 
Grecians by descent, their ancient language was 
Dorick, or rather Eolick, which was in a manner 
that of the aborigines. 

' I am confident, howcTer, that these Ausones were 
at least in part the true ancestors of those abori. 
gines, from whom, we know, the Latins, and after 
them the Homans were descended, who by their 
glorious actions, and wise management, obtained 
at last the empire of the world! I have said in 
part; for the aborigines were very early intermix¬ 
ed with the Greeks, and Celtae or Titans, and per¬ 
haps also with some other people, but yet in such 


’ ;Elian. Var. Hist. 1, 9.c. 16. 


CHAP, XX. 


OF NATIONS. 


171 


sort, that the Ausones were the first, with whom 
the others afterwards coalesced. There are proofs, 
of this, which are to me very convincing ; but those 
which are derived from the ancient language of the 
aborigines, or first Latins, are the best, and most 
efficacious. It is certain tliat this first language, 
which is called Prisca by Isidore, which signifies 
old or ancient, and which was in use amongst those 
ancient people in the time of Saturn and Janus, 
who, says this i^LihoiT^Quavetustissimi Halim suhJa- 
no et Saturno sunt usi; it is certain, I say,thatthis 
first language of the aborigines was entirely Eolick 
and Celtick, as we shall sec hereafter, 

/ 

But to return to the Sabines; there is so little 
truth in their being the offspring of the Osci or 
Opiqui, that there arc almost certain proofs of 
their being descended from the UmbriansiZenodotus 
of Tzezene, who is quoted by Dionysius of Halicar¬ 
nassus, in his second book of Roman Antiquities, 
and who had written anciently the history of 
the Umbrians, says explicitly that the Sabines 
came from them. He shews us that the Umbrians, 
whom he calls indigenes, dwelt in those 

infant times of the world about Rieti; that being 
driven from thence by the Pelasgians, they fixed 




172 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XX. 


themselves a little lower towards the Tiber and the 
Nar; and that having in this manner changed their 
habitation, they also changed name, being now 
called Sabines, instead of Umbrians; his words 
are these; Mutatoque cum sedibus nomine^ 2ai3/W 
OfjL^piKuvy Sabino •pro Umbris fuisse appella^ 
ios? But though Zenodotus does not expressly 
say, that the Sabines came from the Umbrians, yet 
there is reason to believe it, since the Umbrians 
from all antiquity were possessed of the country, 
which afterwards had the name of Sabine. Thus 
the Sabines, properly speaking, were but part of 
those Umbrians, who dwelt between the Nar and 
the Teverton, and especially towards Rieti, and 
the lake Velino. Let us add to this, that the lan¬ 
guage of the Sabines was almost the same as that of 
the Umbrians, and that both the one and the other 
were like the Celtick : the Sabines therefore did 
not come from the Osci or Opiqui, as Cluverius 
imagines. The language of these two people were 
similar, and the reason is, because both of them 
came from the same stock ; I mean, from the Ti¬ 
tans ; the Osci, we may suppose immediately, and 
the Sabines, by means of the Umbrians, from whom 


2 Zenodot. apud Dionys. 1. 2, 


CHAP. XX. 


OP NATIONS* 


17S 


they were descended : be it as it may, however, the 
lanj^uage of these two ancient people was Celtick, 
a?i appears by those words, that are still extant. 

Now, to satisfy the curiosity of any that may 
wish to know whence the name of Sabines came, 1 
answer from Sabiis, or as others call him Sabinns, 

* their chief or leader.^ This Sabus was the son of 
Sanens orSangus, who, having been a famous hero 
among the Sabines, was by them put into the number 
of the gods ; which made St, Augustine say, Sabu 
ni eiiam regem suum primum Sangum^ sivc ut ali^ 
qui appellant Sancum^ retulerunt in deos, Lac- 
tantius, speaking of these people, and the adora¬ 
tion they anciently paid to this imaginary deity, had 
said before him, Sabini Sancum coluerunt and, 
this is he whom Livy calls Semo-Sangus ; but when 
he came to be numbered amongst the gods, or ra* 
ther demi-gods, they readily gave him the name of 
SancUis. Hence came the ancient inscriptions; 
Sango Sancto Semoni Deo Fidio Sacrum^ SfC, and 
this other, SemipatriSanco ; for after his deification 
they gave him the name of Semopater or Semipater 
in the invocations and public prayers, as they gave 

^ Sil. Ital. 1. fJ. de Bel. Pun. Aug. 1. 8. c. 19. de Civ. Dei. 

* Lao. 1. 1 . 0 . Hi, Tit. Liv, 1, 8. 




174: 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XX. 


to Jou, that of Jou-Pater, which in time was sof¬ 
tened to Jupiter. 

In short, the true name of this hero, who seems 

to have been a great augur, was Sancus, the same 

« 

as the Picus of the Latins, which came from the 
bird we call wood-pecker (Pic) which the Celt® 
also made use of in their auguries and divinations : 
for as Picus came from the Celtick Picat or Picquat^ 
so Sancus did from Sanca^ which among the Celt® 
or Bretons, signifies even to this day, to prick or 
peck. Of Sanca the Umbrians,, or Sabines, made 
Sancus, and as the Latins, as well as other people, 
easily turned the C into G, they made Sangus of it. 
This is he whom the Sabines have always regarded 
as their father and founder, and Silius Italicus says 
that these people celebrated his praises, and consi¬ 
dered him as the founder of their nation; Sancum ■ 
voce canehant,, auctorem gentisJ And this has 
given rise to the belief that he was the person that 
separated the Sabines from the Umbrians, and made 
them a distinct people, to whom he gave peculiar 
laws and customs. 

Perhaps he might also be the prince who founded 


5 Sll. Ital.' 1. 8. 


CHAP. XX, 


OF NATIONS. 


175 


the city of Cures, which was afterwards the capital 
of the Sabines. Now, if all this came to pass, 
when they were driven out of the territory of Rieti, 
ex Agro Reatino, by the Pelasgians, according to 
Zenodotus, as cited by Dionysius of Halicarnassus, 
we may suppose that it happened about the time 
that Deucalion reigned in Greece, or some years 
after the deluge, that happened under that prince : 
for the Pelasgians, according to some ancient au¬ 
thors, came at that time from Greece into Italy, 
and drove the Umbrians out of the city of Rieti, 
who then retired towards the banks of the Tiber, 
and there built the city of Cures, under the con¬ 
duct and direction of Sancus, who was succeeded by 
his son Sabus, as prince of this new people, de¬ 
scended from the Umbrians ; and as he followed 
the example of his father in point of wisdom and 
good management, they took, in honour of him, the 
name of Sabines: so that by degrees this new peo¬ 
ple formed a nation quite different and distinct from 
that of the Umbrians. This change, as far as ^ve 
can penetrate into the dark recesses of antiquity, 
happened about fifteen hundred years before our 
Saviour’s nativity, and consequently the settlement 
of the Sabines preceded that of Home about seven 
hundred and fifty years. 


\ 




176 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XX. 


And now I think I have produced very good 
reasons, as well as authorities, for the Sabines be¬ 
ing descended from the Umbrians, who were a sort 
ofCeltaj or Gauls. But that is no impediment to 
their having received colonies of Lacedemonians 
among them ; it is intimated indeed by Justin in 
his tenth book,*^ that the Sabines did have colonies 
from the Lacedemonians, but of this other authors 
speak plainly enough, and that upon the authority 
of their own histories. Hence it is that Dionysius of 
Halicarnassus in his Roman Antiquities, says, that 
he had found by the ancient records of the Sabines, 
that the Lacedemonians had sent a colony amongst 
them, at the time when the famous Lycurgus, thci 
guardian of his nephew Eunomus, gave laws to the 
Spartans ; Lacedemonios istos, speaking of the 
country of the Sabines, coloniam deduxisse, quo 
tempore Lycurgus Kunomi ex fratro nepotis tutor^ 
Sparice leges dabat,'^ It cannot be known who the 
conductor or leader of this colony was ; but, if the 
Spartans sent it about the time that Lycurgus enact¬ 
ed his laws, that must have happened about eight ' 
hundred and eighty years before our Saviour was 

* Just.l. 10. c. 21. 

’ Dionys. 1. 2* 


CHAP. XX, 


OF NATIONS. 


177 


born, and about a hundred and thirty before the 
building of Rome. 


t 

! 

I 


n 

s 


This is confirmed by the authority of Plutarch, 
who, in the life of Numa Pompilius, second king of 
Rome, says, that that prince intermixed many of the 
Lacedemonian customs with those of the Romans, 
because he had conferred about it wuth one Pytha¬ 
goras, a native of Sparta. Besides, Numa was born 
in the country of the Sabines, who owned them¬ 
selves to be a colony of the Lacedemonians: Sabini 
vero dicunt se colonos esse Lacedemoniorum; 
^aocs^ictfJLOvluv AtroixHS yiyonvxt,^ They not only said 
themselves that they -were a colony of that famous 
people of Greece, but there were ancient authors, 
who affirmed their being descended from them, and 
more particularly Servius in his Commentaries in 
these words: Sabini a Lacedemoniis originem du* 
cunt^ ut Higynus ait^ de origine Urbium Italicom 
rum^^ and he confirms it in the same place by the 
authority of Cato and Gellius : Cato autem et Gel- 
liiis^ a Sabo Lacedcetnonio trailers eos originevt 
referunt* 


* Plut. in vit. Numse. 
1 » Serv. 1. 8. 


I 

j 

/ 


Ti 


1 • 
i 




178 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. XX* 


It is true the Sabines had their origin from the 
Lacedemonians, but not directly^ as may be seen 
by ancient authors, but indirectly^ for they came 
from the Umbrians, who in the time of Saturn de¬ 
scended from the Spartans, as already observed : 
and in this manner it is easy to reconcile any seem¬ 
ing differences that occur between the historians 
that treat of the Sabines. I shall say nothing here 
af those people that came from this nation, such as 
the Picentes, Marsi, Hernici, and the like, that 
peopled Lower Italy ; but I cannot forget theSam- 
nites, who were so famous of old, and who became 
the founders of other people, all which migrations 
or colonies rendered the Sabine name very illustri¬ 
ous. However, they became much more so by 
their mixing and incorporating with the Romans in 
the time of Tatius and Romulus. I shall not dwell 
upon this, for, besides that there is no necessity for 
it, ancient historians, and especially the Romans, do 
not deny or controvert it. 






CHAP. I, 


OF nations. 


179 



BOOK II. 

*} 


chap, h 


% 

[ The Origin of the Celiick^ otherwise called the 
1 Gaulish Language, 

The Holy Scripture, which we ought to look 
upon to be the fountain of life and truth, in a few 
words discovers those great’and important things to 
us, which, without the help of it, must have been 
\ buried in eternal oblivion : for it is by it that wc 
are informed that God, in making of man, besides 
other endowments, whether of grace or nature, 
wherewith he was pleased to qualify him, gave him 
words to be the interpreters of his thoughts and the 
bidden recesses of his heart. He endowed him with 





180 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. r. 


the gift of speech from the very moment of his 
creation, that he might be able to celebrate his 
praises, and to live in community and society with 
others of his own kind. I have shewn more large¬ 
ly upon another occasion, that this first language 
was preserved by mankind, not only till the time of 
the universal deluge, but even to the building of 
the famous tower of Babel, since called Babylon. 

The word Babel in Hebrew signifies confusion, 
because the Almighty at that time altered and con¬ 
founded men’s languages, in order to punish them 
for their pride and wickedness. Before that, there 
was but one language in the world, but suddenly 
there sprung up several, which God was pleased to 
form in men, that their measures might be con» 
founded and disconcerted, and so, by this confu¬ 
sion their vain and foolish enterprize was quickly 
at an end. Mankind being astonished with this 
punishment, and confounded with their vanity, 
were, however, brought to obey God's command, 
which r<*quired that they should peopleand replenish 
the earth ; and therefore they left the land of Shi- 
naar or Babylon, and quickly dispersed themselves 
into all parts of the world. 


CHAP. 1. 


OP NATIONS. 


181 


But here we are to observe from the authority of 
divine writ, that the heads of families or tribes hav¬ 
ing at that time ditfereiit languages, began to form 
difi'erent people or nations. For example, the chil¬ 
dren of Sem, which in Scripture arc called Elam^ 
Assur, Arphaxad and Aram, to mention no other, 
were no more than the heads of families before the 
confusion of languages, but afterwards, they be¬ 
came, all of them, heads of families, and of nations : 
so that from them came the Elamites, afterwards 
known by the name of Persians; the Assyrians, 
Chaldeans, and Aramites, otherwise called Syrians: 
and the same may be said of the descendants of 
Cham, and how, therefore, can it be denied in res¬ 
pect to the children of Japhet, who was the eldest 
of Noah’s three sons? 

This patriarch’s eldest son was Gomer, and next 
to him iMagog and Madai,* without our naming four 
more, that are mentioned in the Scripture. It is 
certain that Madai was the father of the Medes, for 
the Scriptures, and especially the prophets, plainly 
intimate it. Magog is also looked upon to be the 
origin of the Scythians, or people of Great Tar- 


* Gerv. 10. v. 1, f. 




18 ^ the antiquities chap. !• 

tary : Gomer, avIio was the eldest, must certainly, 
as well as the rest, be the founder of a people, and 
who could they be but the Gomarians ? and from 
whom, according to Josephus,^ the Celtas or Gauls 
were descended. And if Gomer be the true stock, 
of the Gauls, as I have already proved, by so 
many proofs and authorities, they must necessarily 
have a language quite difi'erent from other people, 
and that language was the Celtick. But to carry 
this name no farther, which indeed properly apper¬ 
tained to no other than the European provinces to¬ 
wards the West, it vvas at first the language of the 
Gomarians in Asia, then of the Sacae, afterwards of 
the Titans, and also of the Cimbri, or Cimmerians. 
After all which, that is, a series of many ages, it 
became at last the language of the Celtae, who were 
better known by the name of Gauls. 

The language therefore of the CeKse, w ho settled 
in Gaul, was, from the first ages of the postdilu- 
Tian w^orld, the language of the Gomarians, who 
were seated originally in Upper Asia, tow'ards Hir- 
cania and Bactriana; and it is not to be doubted 
that the language of the Gomarians was that of 




* Josephus, 1.1. 1. 




CHAP. I. 


OF NATIONS, 


183 


Gonier, who was their head and founder; and if it 
was the languageof Gonier, it raust necessarily have 
been one of those formed at the confusion of Babel. 
All these deductions are so true, natural, and so 
logically pursued, that I cannot see how they should 
be denied. They are supported and confirmed by 
the Scripture; for ISIoscs, after having, in the tenth 
chapter of Genesis, enumerated the children of 
Japhet, and some of their descendants, at the head 
of all which he places Gomer, says a little after, 
These were they, who were dispersed into several 
countries, into the isles of the Gentiles, every one 
according to their language, tribe, and people: ab 
his divisw sunt insulce Gentium ^ in regionibus suis^ 
unusquisque secund m linguam suam^ 6^ familias 
suasy in nationibus suis.^ 

As for the isles of the Gentiles, according to the 
Hebrew language, which is common in Scripture, 
maritime regions or provinces are meant by it, that 
is, all those countries which are reached by sea, as 
Asia Minor, Greece, Italy, Gaul, and Spain, and 
other similar places: but it is certain they were the 
posterity of Japhet, that peopled all these coun- 


* Gen, v. 10. 



184 THE ANTIQUITIES . CHAF. I. 

tries. Gomer was his eldest' son, and the Goma- 
rians were descended from him: these, as well as 
others, possessed countries in the isles of the Gen¬ 
tiles : Josephus says, that these Gomarians were 
those who w'ere called Gauls. They were the peo¬ 
ple therefore that filled Gaul with their colonies, I 
advance nothing here upon my own opinion ; ail of 
it is grounded on Scripture, and on those who have 
been the interpreters of it. 

But let us not rest here, for we ought to neglect 
nothing for the confirmation of truth, which may 
be contested, because it has in a manner continued 
hitherto concealed and unknown. It is certain 
from what has been said, that the CL'l!a3, who ex¬ 
tended themselves to the utmost boundaries of the 
West, that is in?o Gaul, were the descendants of 
those, who anciently bore the name of Titans. 
Callimachus, who flourished in Egypt about two 
hundred and fifty years before our Saviour’s time, 
was so satisfied of the truth of this, that he took 
delight in recounting it, because it seemed to tend 
to the honour of Ptolemy Philadelphus, his hero. 
These Celtm xeXia/, were, according to that author, 
♦■vj/iyova/ rfivvts, TUctnuni postevi^ or rather TUanum 



CHAP, I. 


OF NATIONS. 


185 


sera posterilas^^ the descendants of the Titans, and 
if I may so speak, their last and remote posterUy. 
If these CeKae came from the blood of the Titans, 
it cannot be doubted, that they preserved their Ian-, 
guage, as being that of their fathers and ancestors, 
and what I have said before is a clear proof of it: 
but I have shewn, in treating of those princes who 
ruled over the Titans, that they were the contem¬ 
poraries of Abraham, and even of his father Terah, 

' and that they were more ancient than the reign of 
JBelus, the father of JMinus, and the famous empire 
of Assyria. This is an antiquity that equals mat 
of the ancient patriarchs : but this is not all, for, 
before these people, who in old times made so much 
noise in the world, bore the name of Titans, they' 
had that of Sacae, under which they perfurmed 
greater things as w^ell in Upper Asia, as in Artue- 
Ilia, part of which was seized by them. From those 
early times which reach almost to the dispersion at 
ilabel, and the days of Corner, the Sacm and the 
Titans spoke the Ccltick tongue, as may be seen 
by several words that aie still extant, an<l by me 
proper names of those princes and princesses that 
ruled over these Titans, 


^Cal. hymn, in Delum, v. 170. 


186 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. 1. 


If to all these reasons we join one proof, and 
i that is, that the Celtick is even at this day full of 
words, that in all appearance come from the He¬ 
brew, and are exceedingly ancient, it remains with¬ 
out dispute, that this language was that of Go- 
mer and his posterity. And hence we may easily 
I see, that it had its origin in the country of Ba- 
' bylon, amidst the confusion of the first language. I 
' cannot conceive that it could have any other be- 
I ginning ; though this is nothing very extraordinary 
for there are several other languages that can also 
boast of it. Thus have I given my thoughts of what 
1 may be said with most semblance of truth, with 
respect to the origin of the Celtick language. 

But before we go any farther, I would call the 
reader’s attention to one paiticular: when the Al¬ 
mighty,* after the appeasing of his displeasure by 
the universal deluge, which destroyed the wicked 
/ ;Or the old world, came to give his blessing to the ? 
I three sons of Noah, whom he had reserved for 
I peopling the earth again, he bade them multiply 
and increase, and replenish the earth, e( replete 
ierrum,^ But when their father Noah, some time 


* Gen, ix. 1. 


« V. 27, 








OF NATIONS. 


187 


\ 

ciiAp. I. 

after, gave them his benediction, he said to Japhet 
his eldest son, God shall enlarge Japhet, See. 
which was a very prophetick blessing, and dic¬ 
tated by the spirit of God, who let him know, lhatl 
the bounds and possessions of Japhet, that is of his j 
posterity, should be of a vast extent: in short, the | 
descendants of this ancient patriarch possessed above * 
half Asia, and all Europe, to say nothing here of j 
America. 

Things being thus, which of the sons of Japhet 
ought to have the greatest share in this propagatioji 
of his posterity, and peopling the vast countries 
they were to enjoy? If we speak according to the 
rules of nature and of equity, his eldest son, who 
was Gomer, according to the Scripture,must have 
been the person. And in fact, it is what came to 
pass, according to the singular distribution of God’s 
providence, which orders all things according to his 
pleasure; for, it was from this Gomer, who set¬ 
tled first in the provinces of Upper Asia, that in 
process of time the Celtte came ; and these people 
were so warlike anil numerous, that they possessed 
ijlniogt all the countries of Europe; and hence it 


\ 


7 Gen. x. 





188 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


/ 


CHAP. 1. 


Tvas, that on the one side, the Cape of Oby, which 
is at the mouth of the river Oby, in the farther 
part of Muscovy, was anciently called Promonto^ 
riuni Celticce litarmis^ carambucis luciSy^ and that 
on the other side. Cape Finisterre, which is the 
farthest bounds ot Spain, and the western point of 
Gallicia, was also called Promontorium Cdlicum^ 
from the Celiae, who possessed these countries of 
Spain. 

The Celtae were therefore anciently seated in both 
the extremities of Europe, towards the east and 
west. Besides, historians and geographers fix the 
dwellings of the Celtte from the Danube and the 
Alps, through all the west and north. It was 
upon these authorities, that the ancient Greeks 
comprehended two thirds of Europe, under the 
name of Celtm, or Celto-Scythas : veteres Grceco- 
rum saiptores^ says Strabo, universas genles sep^ 
ientrionales IkvOxs kxI KtXrocrKvOxs Scylhas 

Ct^liu-Scythas appdlaveruni,^ This learned au. 
,thor had already said in his first book, t:iat those 
.ancient Greeks gave also the name of Cclrse and 
Iberi, or rather that of Ceiti-Beriansj and Celto. 


*Pjin. 1. 6. c. 10, 


’ Strab. 1. 11. 


cnAi*. I. 


OF NATIONS. 


189 


Scythians, to those people who lircd towards the 
" western parts of Europe: his words are Celias et 
Iberi^ aut mixlo nomine Celtiberi ac Cdto.Scyihce 
appellati sunt, We may therefore be satisfied from 
th ese ancient Greek authorities, that the provinces 
of Europe, as well towards the west as the north, 
were full of Celtoe, whence Ephorus, wht) lived a 
little before the reign of Alexander the Great, ob¬ 
served, that Ccltica was of a prodigious extant ; 
Ephorus ingenti magnitudine dicil esse T^v 
Celticam, 

The ancient Grecians, we see, perfectly under¬ 
stood that the Celtae in ancient times had possessed 
a great part of Europe, and they plainly enough 
own it. But it is strange they did not know that 
the same Celtse, under the name of Titans, conti¬ 
nued about three hundred years masters of Asia 
Minor, Thrace, and Greece, without exception | 
which I have clearly proved in the preceding pages, 
where I mention Uranus, Saturn, and Jupiter. Oa 
the other hand, the Latins seemed to be ignorant, 
that one third of Italy had for several ages been 
in the possession of the Umbrians, who were a 
Gaulish or Critick people: the same thing may be 
said in respect to the Sabines, Osci, or Opiqui, the 


190 


THE ANTIQtriTIES 


CHAP, I. 


Volscians and Brutians, all of whom, and they 
were very ancient, were descended from the Celtm : 
and indeed I cannot but wonder, that the Romans, 
either did not know, or, if they knew, that they 
dissembled it. The Greeks did the same in refer¬ 
ence to the Titans : for the ancient fragments which 
are still extant, both of the one and the other na¬ 
tion, would induce us to believe that they were not 
altogether ignorant of this truth. 

Be this, however, as it may, it Is plain from what 

I have said, that the blessing of Noah, in respect 
1 

to Japhet, was a prediction that was fully accom¬ 
plished, for his possessions were vastly extensive ; 
but he himself enjoyed so many countries and terri¬ 
tories, no otherwise than by the posterity of Go- 
mer, his eldest son : and he settled many colonies 
in Asia, and filled a great part of Europe with peo¬ 
ple that descended from him. It was by means of 
so many colonies, that the language of Gomcr, or 
if you will, of the Gomarians, that had its be¬ 
ginning in Asia, afterwards spread itself over 
all Europe, under the name of Cel tick ; for it was 

f 

known by no other appellation than by this, and ‘ 
that of Gaulish, which is the same thing in the 
western parts: and, while it remained in the east^ 



CHAP. I. 


OF NATIONS. 


191 


I mean in (he territories of Asia Minor, It was con- 
sidered no otherwise than the language of the Go- 
"niarians, who in process of time had the name of 
Sacae. Let us therefore inquire now in the first 
place, whether this same language was not enlarg¬ 
ed, or did not nndergo some mixture and change, 
before it left the provinces adjoining to the Caspian 
sea, and Bactriana, for there it was, that it had 
its first beginning. 


That wc may the more easily clear up this point, 
we are to remember that the Goniarians, who dw'elt 
in Margiana, having in consequence of civil and do- 
mestlck quarrels, driven some of their people out, 
these passed over the high mountains lying to the 
south of that province, and entered into a country, 
that to them was new and strange : and these exiles, 
as I may call them, were afterwards known by the 
name of Parthians. From .them we have every 
reason to believe the Persians, who became so 
famous afterwards, were descended, though some¬ 
thing is to be said of their neighbours of Carmania ; 
and hence it is, that ancient authors call them 
sometimes Carmani, and sometimes German!. We 


Herodot. Strab. & alii. 



192 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CIIAl'. I. 


need not cavil about these two words, since they 
signify the same thing, and in the Celtick tongue, 
are tantamount to warlike men : for here it must be 
observed, that there are many words of that lan¬ 
guage still to be found in (he Persian tongue, which 
we need not w'ondcr at, since the Persians are de¬ 
scended from the most ancient Parthiaas, and these 
' last were the progeny of the Comarians, afterwards 
called Sacm, and the ancestors of the Celta;. 

B^'sides, the Persian language is in many res¬ 
pects like the Teutonick, or High Dutch ; and this 
liken* ss is sometimes so apparent, that very learned 
men have been surprized at it, though there would 
have been no room for astonishment, had they well 
considered, that those two nations, I mean, the 
Persians and Germans^ had anciently received very 
numcroMS colonies, who came from the same people, 
such as lived in Upper Asia, known by the naitie 
of Daes, in Latin, Dacce or Dai, For when they 
passed into Europe, they were called Dacians, and 
became the Dici of the Romans, who were often 
intermixe*! with the Getae, and the two nations were 
often confounded by the ancients; but 1 may per¬ 
haps speak more fully upon this subject in another 
place. I ani now to observe, that the Teutones 


CHAP. I. 


OF NATIONS. 


193 


had thcip origin from these Dacians that came from 
Asia, but more particularly from the Phrygians, as 
will appear hereafter. These Dacians had several 
times sent colonies among the Parthians and Per¬ 
sians, their neighbours, and it may be said, that 
the Arsacidan Parthians reigned in Asia principally 
by their help. These things considered, it is not 
to be wondered at, that the Persian language, not¬ 
withstanding the changes it may have undergone, 
had anciently, and even still retains so much like¬ 
ness in many things with the Teutonick, Let me 
hope that this discovery of matters that were so ob¬ 
scure before, may be no unpleasing subject to the 
lovers of antiquity. 

But as the Ccltick tongue, in the early ages of 
the world, was communicated to the Parthians and 
so to the Persians, who were colonies of the for¬ 
mer ; it has on the other side received many things 
from the Chaldeans, long before Abraham’s time; 
and this happened, so far as we are able to con¬ 
jecture, in the following manner. After the Go- 
marians had obtained the name of Sacm, and mul¬ 
tiplied very much in -Upper Asia, towards the 
countries of ilyrcania and Bactriana, several bo¬ 
dies of them being sent out to seek their fortune, 


o 







I 


194 THE ANTIQUITIES CHAP. I, 

fell into the Greater Armenia, and finding it to be | 
a fine and delightful country, from whence they j 
might promise great felicity to themselves, they fix- ' 
ed there, and made a powerful settlement. And 
thus the Sacce communicated their name to part of 
this province, which was called Sacasena, or rather 
Sacastena, which signifies the country of the Sacse. 
The Gomarian Sacm, by this new settlement, found 
themselves to be neighbours to the Chaldeans, and 
as it were mixed with them : for, in the first age 
of the postdiluvian world, several of the Chaldeans 
retired into the mountains of Armenia, the more 
easily to contemplate the stars, and to live with the 
more safety from the invasions of other people. 

Auguries, divinations, magick, and enchant¬ 
ments were then much in use among most nations 
in the world: and they undertook nothlr»g ofany con¬ 
siderable importance, without previously consulting i 
their diviners : and it is well known, that the 
Chaldeans in tiiose times were looked upon to be * 
the greatest masters in these diabolical sciences. The ‘ 
Sacae, who were their neighbours, did not fail to 
become their disciples, and w'ere, if I may so say, 
initiated by them into all those mysteries of super¬ 
stition and iniquity. It was therefore in the ChaU 



eiiA-p. I, 


OF nations. 


195 


dean schools, that they chiefly learned all that was 
most refined and secret in those prophane and dan¬ 
gerous arts. 

Hence it was, that they learnt to take their 
nearest relations, even their own sisters, to be their 
wives, and to make this criminal, not to say, abo¬ 
minable and incestuous alliance, a point of honour 
and religion also : and it wp from the same prin¬ 
ciples of this dangerous doctrine, that some ages 
after, the Sacick or Titan princes, I mean Uranus 
Saturn, and Jupiter, married their own sisters : 
it was from hence also they learnt to disfigure their 
i bodies, that is to imprint certain figures, marks or 
I characters upon them, whereby they were conse- 
1 crated, not to the service of their imaginary dei- 
! ties, but to the worship of devils, and the prince 
I of darkness, that seduced them : lastly, to pass 
1 over many other particulars, it was in this school 

that they learnt to inspect the entrails of beasts, and 

% 

perhaps of men too, in order to have their more im¬ 
portant divinations strongly confirmed by the fibres 
or lobes of the liver : This the Grecians, in their laii^ 
guage, called'E7ra]o<rK09r£ry,ydCMr/«5pfccre, or jeeur 
, consulere^ that is, to consult, or rather by way of 

o 2 





i95 -THE iNTIQUITIES CIIAP.'I. 

divination,'to inspect the liver: and it is so certain 
that these sorts of divination came from the Chal¬ 
deans, that the famous Nahuchadonosor, king of 
.Chaldea and Babylon, made use of them before he 
laid siege to Jerusalem. For arriving at two cross 
roads, one of which led to Judea, and the other to 
the country of Ammon, and not knowing which 
way he should go the scripture says, that beside 
.other divinations, he consjilted the livers of beasts, 
and from that inspection determined to go to Judea, 
in order to destroy Jerusalem, to which he believed 
his gods had directed him.^^ 

But to return to the Sacae that settled in the 
vGreater Armenia. The Cnretes, who were their 
priests, sacrificers, doctors, and diviners, did not 
fail to learn these pernicious sciences and customs 
which were inspired into them by demons and evil 
.. spirits, that had seduced most part of the world to 
these Chaldean iniquities. The Curetes gloried 
that they taught them to the princes and kings of 
their nation and country ; and hence it was, that 
Uranus, his son Saturn and grandson Jupiter, af¬ 
fected to marry their own sisters, Titea, Khea, and 


Eze, 21. 21. in Heb. apud 70. 



CHAP. I. 


OF NATIONS.- 


m 


Juno; facts ill which the poets have not fabled. 
From all.these particulars it is easy to see, that the 
.. Armenian Sac® had some intimacy and communi¬ 
cation with the ancient Chaldeans, that they imi¬ 
tated them in many of their customs, and that they, 
also borrowed many words from their language, as 
may be seen even at present. 

The Sac®, the posterity of Gomer, made irrup¬ 
tions from Armenia into Cappadocia, adjoining to the 
Euxine sea; and not long after they passed from 
thence into Upper Phrygia, under the conduct of 
A'emon, and his brother Doeas, who, in all proba-- 
bility, was his diviner : for in those times, princes, 
and even kings themselves, gloried in having skill 
in auguries and divinations, as well as in delusions 
and enchantments. And here it may be necessary 
to observe a thing which is of some importance to 
what I have advanced, that these people came in a 
manner from the same stock and blood, as the Go- 
marian Sac® : for the Phrygians had Askenez, 
who in scripture is mentioned to be the eldest son of 
Gomer, for their father and origin : and as we have 
proved that the Sac® were descended from the same 
Gomer, it is impossible but these two ancient and 
famous people must agree, and be like one another. 






m 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. 1. 


in many respects. Hence it is, that the Celtae, or 
Gauls, who were the descendants of the Sacac, and 
the Teutones or Germans, the posterity of the 
Phrygians, have always had resemblance in their 
customs and manners to one another. 

It was in Phrygia, and under the government of 
Uranus, the son of that Acmon, 1 have before 
spoken of, that the Goinarian Sacae, began to 
change their name, and to assume that of Titans, 
which signifies, A man of the earthy or an earths 
lorn man. This name became celebrated in the 
reigns of Saturn and his son Jupiter, under whom the 
Titans spread themselves more and more in Greece, 
Italy, Sicily, Gaul and Spain : and it may well 
enough be imagined, that their language became as 
extensive as their empire, which lasted for some 
ages ; such being always the practice of victorious 
and conquering nations. And therefore when 1 
shall hereafter mention that the language of the 
ancient Greeks, I mean of those who lived before 
the time of Heilenus and Deucalion, was full of 
Celtick, and that the language of the Aborigines, 
or first Latins of Italy was enriched by that of the 
Celtae, there will I trust arise no great difficulty in 
the belief of it; at least it may be hoped that it will 
be sufficiently probable to merit credence. 




CHAP. I. 


OF NATIONS. 


10D 


If it be once allowed that the empire of the Ti¬ 
tans, who were the ancestors of the Celtae, was 
settled over Greece and Italy, as indeed it cannot 
well be contested, a man would in some degree be 
esteemed obstinate and unreasonable, not to believe 
a thing that has such an appearance of truth, and 
has, as it were, scarcely any thing to induce him to 
the contrary: and if after all, it should seem 
strange and novel, which cannot well be, that the 
Greeks and the Romans should receive any thing 
from the barbarians, it can be so to no other than to 
those, who are but little acquainted with antiquity, 
or have not sufficiently attended to what has been 
offered, and discovered to them upon this head. 
But if there be any doubt or scruple yet remaining, 
I hope it will all vanish upon the perusal of the 
following pages. 




500 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP, llv 


CHAP. ir. 


What the ancient Language of the Grecians wasy 
before^ the time of Deucalion and his Son' 
liellenus, 

I THINK it will not be improper in this places 
to say a word or two concerning the origin of the 
Greeks, before I come to the language used by these 

1 

renowned people. How remote soever it may i 
seem to be from us, yet it is neither so obscure nor j 

so uncertain, as that of several other nations. For i 

in short, it is known that they were the descend¬ 
ants of Javan, or rather Jaon, mentioned in scrip¬ 
ture, to be the fourth son of Japhet, by which it 
plainly appears that Javan was one of the brothers 
of Goraer, who was the eldest of all.’ And thus 
• the Celtae and the Greeks, who seemed in customs 




CHAP. II, 


OP NATIONS* 


2or 


and manners to differ so much from one another, 
yet had two brothers for their heads and first foun- 
" ders: and perhaps this was the reason, why these 
two famous nations were not once so dissimilar, as 
they appeared to be in succeeding ages* 

Javan then was the true stock, or origin, not 
only of the lonians, but even of all the Grecians, 
as Josephus, who calls him Javan, assures us in his- 
Antiquities : 'A'tfo ^^Icuvhn luvtx kxi Trcctlss «y/- 

ylwcru i. e. ab Javan lones Sf omnes Greed prog»- 
nati mntJ It was from this same Javan that the 
lonians took their name, according to saint Epi- 
phanius; and he was also the first author of the an¬ 
cient Greek tongue, which these people took care to 
preserve: a quo lones omnes traxere^ *0 rr,v irrotXxixV' 
yXu(T(rxii ruv EXXmcoy E^ov/jy, qui veierum Grcecorum 
linguam retinuerunt^ But yet we must not tldnk 
that these people had the name of lonians from 
their first beginning : all strangers called them no 
otherwise than Jaonians, as we learn from the 
scholiast of Aristophanes, who says, rixvlxs l5s EA- 
Xvjvxs lotovxs Ba^iSx^ci omnes Grcecos barhari 

Jaones appellabantJ But they w ere not barba- 


Jos. If If c, *7. 3 Epip. c. 1. Haees, 59. n. 7. 

* Schol. Aristo. in Acharnan. 



202 


TUE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. II. 


rians and strangers only, that called them by this 
name, as the scholiast would insinuate, for Homer 
himself, in the twelfth book of his Iliad, oames 
them so; and this would lead us to suppose that 
the person, who afterwards was called Javan, was 
anciently named Jaon : be this as it may, however, 
the word was in process of time, softened from Jao- 
nians into that of loniaus, and this name the peo¬ 
ple of Attica chiefly retained, and also their colo¬ 
nies settled in Asia, and perhaps before that, in 
the maritime parts of Peloponnesus, towards the 
country of the Sicyonians. 

What the Greeks say is entirely chimerical, con¬ 
cerning the lonians having their name from Ion, 
the son of Xutus, and grandson of Hellenus, whose 
father was Deucalion, so famous in ancient history. 
For it is certain, that the people of Attica, long 
before the time of this Ion, were called lonians, 
as well as their colonies in Peloponnesus ; and hence 
Pausanias says, that if the lonians had their name 
from this Ion, the son of Xutus, it was only by 
■way of addition and overplus : Quamquam istud eis 
non mutationem nominis atiulit sed addiiamenium,^ 


*Sari. Paus. in Achaicisj 1. 7. 



CHAP. II. 


OF NATIONS. 


203 


Besides, Herodotus^ has justly observed, that the 
Athenians, and those of them that lived in the co¬ 
lonies of Asia, did not like to be called lonians, 
being a name which most of them hated, and this 
(besides that it was odious, on account of the cow¬ 
ardice of the Asiatick lonians) because they would 
not have it thought that they came from Ion, the 
great grandson of Deucalion, who w&s a barbarous 
prince. 

But having mentioned Deucalion, it may be ob¬ 
served, that the poets and historians make him 
to be the son of Prometheus, whom they call 
the son of Japhet, the brother of Saturn,, and 
the uncle of Jupiter: if that be true, Deucalion 
must have been descended from the blood of the 
Titan princes, and consequently of the Celtick 
race : but to make him Saturn’s nephew, is a piece 
of inconceivable ignorance : for this Titan prince 
lived in the time of Abraham, and Prometheus, the 
father of Deucalion, did not come out of Asia into 
Greece till about eight hundred years after. But, 
however this may be, Deucalion, though a stran¬ 
ger and a barbarian, obtained the title of king in 


* Herodot. 1. i. 


204’ THE ANTIQUITIES CHAP. II* 

the midst of Greece, and not far from Attica : he 
began his reign in the ninth year of Cecrops, the 
first king of Athens, which was fifteen hundred 
and seventy-four years before our Saviour’s birth,, 
as may be seen by the Marmora Arundeliana,'^ Now 
it was in the reign of this foreign-prince, that the 
deluge Iiappened, which from him was called Deu- \ 
calion’s flood,. and made so much noise in Greece,, 
though in itself it was no great matter. 

Deucalion having in this manner fixed himself to^ 
wards Parnassus, at his death left two sons; the 
first of whom was called Hellenus,-and the othen 
Amphictyon, who governed at Athens after his 
brother-in-law Cranaus, who was their second king, 
and whom the other dethroned. As for Hcllenus j 
the eldestj he reigned in the country of Phocis, 
which was a part of Lower Thessaly. The Mar¬ 
mora Arundeliana very pointedly informs us of 
what is extremely singular, that in the second year 
of his reign, those people who were then called 
Greeks, r/>a/xo/, Greedy took the name of Hellenes, 
Hellenes appellati sunt and this name 
grew afterwards so pleasing to the people of Greece,- 

? Marm. Arun. seu Oxon. Epoc. 2. 

® Alarm. Arun. Epoc. 6. ' 




CHAP. II. 


OF NATIONS. 


206 


•that they, as it were, adopted it as their beloved 
name, though it came from a prince of a barbarous 
race. This remarkable change happened in Greece, 
or at least in some part of it, fifteen hundred and 
twenty-one years before our Christian cera began* 

This Hellenus had three sons, the eldest of whom 
w'as called Eolus, the second Dorus, and the third 
Xuthus: the first by right of primogeniture, suc¬ 
ceeded his father in his dominions, and reigned after 
him in Phocis, the south part of Thessaly ; the se¬ 
cond had Estiotidis for his share, which was a part 
of the same province : but his descendants after 
many vicissitudes, being expelled, at last fixed to¬ 
wards the borders of Parnassus, between Phocidis 
and Mount Eleus : as for Xuthus, he went to dwell 
at Athens, and having married the daughter of 
Erechthciis, he had two sons by her, who were loa 
and Acheus, as historians named them. The first 
of these, for his great actions, grew very famous, 
and having done great services to the people of 
Attica, he obtained much reputation and au¬ 
thority among them. These in short were the 
sons and grandsons of the famous Deucalion, and 
the settlements which they made in several parts of 
Greece. 


206 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. II. 


Here I must desire my reader to pause for a mo¬ 
ment, and consider two very remarkable circum¬ 
stances ; the first is the art of these foreign princes, 
and the other the ignorance of the Graecians, who 
valued themselves so much for their exactness. As 
for Deucalion, this prince at first obtained a small 
territory in Lycoria, upon Mount Parnassus, 
but not willing to be limited within so narrow 
bounds, he waged war against his neighbours, and 
made himself master of Phocidis in Thessaly, and 
perhaps of Estiotidis also. It must be remember¬ 
ed, however, that Phocidis was not called by that 
name, above a hundred and sixty years before the 
reign of Deucalion, and that it received it from 
Phthins, a prince that came thither from Arcadia. 
This small territory of Lower Thessaly was other¬ 
wise called Hellades; and this, which was the true 
name, came from a very ancient colony of people 
called Htdlians, in Greek "EXXo/, Ildli^ who'were 
also named ZsXAo/, Selli^ or Sellians. These people 
coming from Thesprosia, near Dodona, where the 
famous oracle was, endeavoured to fix themselves 
in Lower Thessaly, which country from them took 
the name of Hellades, signifying as much as the 
country of the Hellians 


I 



CHAP, II. 


OF NATIONS. 


207 


Deucalion, to please the people whom he had 
conquered, called his son, Hellenus, as if he had 
been descended from those people; and this same 
Hellenus coming afterwards to be king, required 
his subjects, who were at that time called rfar^oi, 
Greed.) which was a common name to the whole 
nation, and who were descended from these ancient 
Ilellians, for the future to be named Hellenians. I 
say they were called Greeks before, but we are 
here to take notice that the country where Hellenus 
reigned, had bore the name of Hellades, as well as 
Phocidis, but that for a long time after, the inha¬ 
bitants called themselves Greeks, and not Hellians, 
as they had done anciently. In short, in the time 
of Cecrops and Deucalion there were, properly 
speaking, no other inhabitants than those about 
D ;dona, and the people of Phiofidis, w ho were a 
colony of them, with some other Thessalians, that 
went by the name of Greeks, that is, there were 
no other than the descendants of the ancient Ilel¬ 
lians, that bore that name, whether they were 
those that continued in Thesprofia, or those that 
lived in Thessaly: Hellenus therefore wished his 
subjects to quit the name of Greeks, and assume 
that of Hellenians in its stead ; this we not only 
learn from the Marmora Arundcllana, but also 






208 


TUE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. II. 


'from Apollodorus, Aristotle, 
others. 


Pliny, Eusebius, and 




What appears most singular to me is, that a 
name, which a petty prince of foreign extraction, 
gave at first to no other than the inhabitants of Hel* 
lades or Phiotidis, who were his subjects, should in 
process in time become common to all the Grecians: 
and indeed we find they did not hesitate to assume 
that of Hellenians, though it was not till about 
seven hundred years after, towards the beginning 
of the Olympiads, and seven or eight hundred 
years before our Saviour’s nativity: for we find 
from Homer that in his time they called no other 
people Hellenians, but those of Hellades in Thes¬ 
saly. 


King Hellenus, in respect to his children, imi¬ 
tated the policy of his father Deucalion. He knew 
well enough that the most ancient people of Greece 
were called either Eolians or Dorians, and that 
there were several of that name in Thessaly; his 
eldest son he named Eolus, and to the second he 
gave the name of Dorus, affecting thereby to make 
them bear the names of those ancient people of 
Greece. Xuthus, his third son, did the same : for 












CHAP. II. 


Oy NATIONS* ’ 


having fixed himself at Athens, where the name of 
the Jaonians, as also of the lonians was very ancient^ 
he called his eldest son Ion, and to the other he gave 
the name of Acheus, because there were a people 
called Acheans in Thessaly, from whence he came. 

It is an easy matter to observe not only in Deu* 
calion, who was a shrewd prince, but also in Hel- 
lenus and Xuthus his son and grandson, a singular 
piece of affectation, and admirable address toinsinu* 
ate themselves into the affections of the Greeks, 
and to conciliate their favour; and perhaps this 
address of theirs might be accompanied with a secret 
ambition of transmitting their names to posterity. 
Certainly if these were the designs of these barba¬ 
rous princes, it must be owned they succeeded ad¬ 
mirably well; for the Greeks in process of time had 
such complaisance for them, as to give to their lan¬ 
guage the name of Hellemis, by calling it no other 
than the Ilcllenick tongue ; and the dialects of it, 
the names of Deucalion^s descendants. For exam¬ 
ple, did not Ion, the son of Xuthus, communicate 
his name to the lonians, and to the lonick tongue ? 
AVas not the same thing done with regard to Eolns 
and Dorus, his kindred ? Were not the lonick 
and Dorick dialects so denominated from them t 


V 


210 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. II. 


The Greeks both say and write it; but if they fan¬ 
cy that these names, which were so ancient in 
Greece came originally from the grandsons of Deu¬ 
calion, we must charge them with being guilty of 
a piece of inexcusable ignorance. 

I have adventured to say thus much, and-think 
I have good reason for it: for it is certain that the 
Greek tongue had these three dialects ab origine^ 
and that they bore those names I have already men¬ 
tioned, many ages before the reign of Hellenus and 
Deucalion, as we shall see presently. It is true 
that king Hellenus had the glory of communicating 

his name to the Grecians, who from him were called 
\ 

HelleiieSy as their language was named the 

Ilellenick tongue; and what is very surprising is, 

that the name of Greeks, ifxUoty Greedy in time 

\ 

became so hateful and neglected, that it is scarcely 
at all to be met with in any of their writings, or but 
very rarely, and that only in some of their ancient 
poets. As to Eolus and Dorus, the two sons of 
Hellenus, if they communicated their names to the 
Eolians and Dorians, as the Greeks will have it, it 
was only as I said before, by way of addition, for 
these names w’ere in being among the Greeks many 
ages, before they ever heard of Deucalion and his 


CHAP. II. 


OF NATIONS. 


211 


grandsons : and this is a fact to which the Greek 
historians have not given due heed in their writings, 
liut that we may shew that these names of lonians and 
Eolians came not originally from the posterity of 
Deucalion, as the Greeks have fancied, it will be 
proper here to inspect the state of Greece about 
the time'of Cecrops and Deucalion; for by this 
short view, things will be much more easily un¬ 
derstood, than otherwise they can be. 

We may boldly aflirm, that the Greeks have no 
certain records or monuments of antiquity that can 
be depended on before the time of Cecrops, the first 
king of Athens: their history, properly speaking, 
begins with that prince, and it is from him down¬ 
wards that we have a regular succession of their 
kings and archons. With him begin the Parian 
marbles, which are a curious remnant of antiquity; 
and it is from him that Eusebius in his Chronicle, 
continues the succession of all the Athenian kings. 
These were the first princes of this country, of 
whom any thing can be said that is certain, and 
there were some ancient monuments remaining of 
them in that famous city, in the time of the Roman 
emperors. Who do you imagine this Cecrops was ? 
Do you suppose him to be of tlie ancient Greek 

p 2 


212 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. II* 


race, or one of the indigenes of Attica, of whom 
the first Athenians always boasted they were de* 
scended ? There is nothing in all this. Cecrops 
was an Egyptian by descent, and born in the city 
of Said, and who, when he passed by sea into Greece, 
found Attica become a prey to barbarians, as well 
as most of the adjacent countries : some of them he 
conquered by force of arms, others he brought to 
submit by gentle methods; and having made them 
more tractable, as well as the natives of the coun¬ 
try, he reigned for the space of fifty years over 
them. He began his government in Attica 806 
years before the Olympiads, according to the com¬ 
putation of the Marmora Arundelliana, and 1582 
years before our Saviour’s birth. 

Cecrops had not been above nine years upon the 
throne, when Deucalion, who was a barbarous 
prince, coming from some parts of Upper Asia, 
began to reign in Lycoria towards mount Parnas* 
sus. His son Hellenus after his decease governed 
one part of his dominions, I mean, a part of Thes* 
saly; but he had scarce been four years upon the 
throne, when the famous Cadmus came by sea from 
Phoenicia, that is, from near Tyre and Sidon, and 
this new comer seized upon Thebes, the capital of 


CHAP. II. 


OF NATIONS. 


213 


Beotia, where he built a citadel, called Cadmeafrom 
his name, and there fixed the seat of his dominion. 
Historians assure us, he l?rought the Phoenician let¬ 
ters, which were then sixteen in number into 
Greece, and say, that before his time these people, 
who became afterwards so polite, had none; but 
I cannot for many reasons be of this opinion, though 
it has commonly obtained amongst the Grecians, as 
well as other authors. 

I am therefore confident that there were letters 
in Greece before Cadmus’s time, and more espe¬ 
cially among those people, called Eolians; I mean 
the ancient Eolians, who were there several ages 
before Ilellcnus and Deucalion. But we cannot 
now* enter upon a disquisition of this matter; Cad¬ 
mus first settled in Beotia, fifteen hundred and 
nineteen years before our Saviour came into the 
world, and three hundred and ten years before the 
Trojan war. Eight years after his arrival came a 
body of Egyptians, under the conduct of Danaus, 
into Peloponnesus. This prince landed at Argos ; 
and having in a little time expelled king Gelanor, 
reigned in his stead in Argos and Argolis, in the 
neighbourhood of Laconia ; the government 0/ this 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. II. 


n-i 


stranger began about fifteen hundred years before 
the date of the Christian a 0 ra. 


From what has been said, may be seen the changes 
that have happened in Greece, about the time of 
Cccrops and Deucalion, and that in the space of 
seventy years, a great part of this country was filled 
with strangers and barbarians, who reigned there 
a long time, and made powerful settlements ; though 
I have not enumerated Eumolpus and Tereus> 
among these foreigners, both of whom came from 
Thrace, and the first of whom possessed himself of 
a part of Attica, towards'Megara, and the other a 
canton of Phocis, which bore the name of Daulidis. 
Let us farther add, that after nearly the revolution 
of one age, after the death of Cecrops, the famous 
Pelops, the son of Tantalus, who was then king of 
Phrygia, came into Greece, w ith a great number of 
followers, and this Phrygian having not long after 
married Ilyppodamia, the daughter and only heir of 
Oenomaus, he reigned in Elis, after his father-in* 
law'’s decease. Pelops governed this new dominion 
a long time, peopling it with Phrygians, and grew 
so potent, that he communicated his name to Pelo¬ 
ponnesus, which signifies the peninsula of Pelops. 
Having attained to this degree of power and autho- 












eiiAP. 11." 


OF NATIONS.' 


215 


rity, it is not to be doubted that fof the better se¬ 
curing his acquisitions, of whose power his neigh¬ 
bours could not but be jealous, he made use of 
strangers, brought thither out of Phrygia. It is 
easy from this brief account, which has been faith¬ 
fully taken from the records of ancient times, to see 
that a great part of Greece was under the power 
and dominion of foreign princes fifteen or sixteen 
hundred years before our Saviour’s nativity, whence 
HecatcBus of Miletus, a very ancient historian, for 
he flourished in the time of Darius, the son of Hys- 
daspes, says, that the barbarians dwelt in Pelopon¬ 
nesus before the Grecians, that is, before the de¬ 
scendants of Hellenus, or/ irpl tov EAATjviwv uKfxnxv xil^f 
Bx^lSapoii Quod ante Grcecos habitaverunt earn bar^ 
bari.^ But that which Hccataeus says only of Pe¬ 
loponnesus, Strabo assures us, was true in respect of 
almost all Greece, r/ iLod ^ C’j^’noc.cra'x ''EXXxs 

y^odcixlx Bx§(3x§cijv to TtxXxm I Ecquidem totCL 

fere Grecia antiquitus a bavbarisfuit habitatad^ 
And this we have also confirmed by Pausanias 
in his first book of the Description of ancient 
Greece.” 


9 Hccata apud Strabo, 1. 7, 
Strab. Ib. 

}} Paijs.'l, 1. 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. II*. 


215 

It IS therefore evident that this famous country was 
filled with foreigners, during the reigns of Cecrops 
and DeucalioDi and some time after. Now if that 
be true, and there is no room to question it, since 
all the Greeks confess it themselves ; what can wc 
think of the ages preceding that time ? Is there not 
room to believe that the first and ancient Greeks in 
those remote ages, being less capable to defend 
themselves, must have had their country over-run 
•with barbarians? And these came either out of 
the territories of Asia, or those parts of Europe^ 
which lie to the north. What I have said before 
concerning the Titans shews this to be probable 
enough ; for they were absolute masters of all 
Greece in the reigns of Uranus, Saturn, Jupi¬ 
ter, &c. for above three hundred years successively. 

1 have hitherto endeavoured to give a concise and 
distinct idea of the state of G reece, in the time of 
Cecrops and Deucalion, who were cotemporaries, 
and in that of Ilellenus and his two sons, Eoliis 
and Dorus, who succeeded him in his dominions. 
Wc are now to shew, and that even in opposition 
to the common opinion of the Grecians, that it was 
not these two princes, who were strangers by de¬ 
scent, that gate name to the first Eolians and Do* 









CHAP. II, 


OF NATIONS, 


217 


rians, of ancient Greece, or that the lonians had 
theirs from their nephew Ion, the son of Xuthus. 

In order to effect this, we need no more than to 
review what I have already said concerning Javan 
or Jaon, who according to Scripture, was Ja- 
phet’s fourth son, and regarded as the father and 
founder of the Greek nation, that had its origin 
from him. This person, being the son of Japhet, 
lived in the time of the confusion of languages, 
and the dispersion of the people over the face of 
the earth : he had Greece to his share, according 
to Josephus, and in this the ancient fathers unani¬ 
mously agree. There were above fifteen hundred 
years space, from the time of Javan or Jaon, to the 
reign of Deucalion, and his son Hellenus, who gave* 
the name of Hellenes to the Grecians. Things being 
thus, I would ask what name did the first inhabi¬ 
tants of Greece go by, for so long a revolution of 
time ? For they must have had one to distinguish 
them from other nations ? And what must that be 
but Jaonians, as being derived from Jaon, their first 
founder ? This name in process of time became 
somewhat softened, and was changed into that of 
lonians, and perhaps Aonians, 





Tlie ANTIQUITIES 


CIIAP. II# 


Again, \vc have every reason to believe, that 
Javan orJaon usually resided in Attica, and hence 
undoubtedly it was, that the Athenians boasted 
they were the aborigines or autochthones, accord¬ 
ing to their language, which signified people born 
in that country, and natives that came from no other 
place: Cujus sucb patrice^ said Demosthenes of old, 
dicuntur esse autochthones seu indigenes^ ccvlo^^ 
Oovss’ o/AoXoySvrxi After which he presently 

adds. Soli omnium hominum^ ex quo lati sunt^ hanc 
incoluerunt^ et posteris suis tradiderunt. And 
all this we find confirmed by Isocrates, Plato, Euri¬ 
pides, and several others.*^ But as the Athenians 
boasted much of their antiquity in this respect, and 

became very fond of it. Antisthenes the philoso- 

* 

pher, in a way of raillery once told them, that 
. he wondered they should so much glory in a 
thing which grasshoppers and snails could as much 
pretend to as themselves. This sort of pleasantry 
might help somewhat to lessen that vanity, but 
could not make the people of Attica really less in 
point of antiquity, and upon this subject the Arca¬ 
dians even contested it with them to no purpose. 

Isocrates however had no grounds to say that Athens 

\ 

>2 Bemost. in Orat. funeb. 

^*isoctat, Plato in Menex Eurip. in Ion. Laer, in vit, Antist. 


CHAr, II. 


OF NATIONS. 


219 


was the most ancient city of all Greece, UoXtvac^^xoim 
lx%v, Urbern antiquissimam ; for I consider it as 
certain, with Pausanias, that that of Lycosura, which 
was in Arcadia, was older. 

As, therefore, the first inhabitants of Attica 
came from Javan or Jaon, they were anciently 
called Jaonians : and this Strabo asserts upon the 
authority of Homer, who in the 13 th book of his 
Iliad has these words, evOsi Boiuloi kxI Ixoys^f Jllic 
autem Bceoti et Jaones, and says that by Jaones 
the poet meant the Athenians, Atheniensis signi^ 
Jlcat,^^ Strabo in the same place shews clearly 
that the inhabitants of Attica, and of the country 
of Megara, were very anciently called Jaonians and 
lonians, and adds besides, as a thing very remark¬ 
able, that they bore the name of lonians, before the 
building of that ancient city : Antiquitus hane re» 
gionem, he speaks of the territory of Megara, si^ 
cut et Atticam^ ^'luns lenes habitabant necdum 
conditis Megaris. The city of Megara was very an¬ 
cient, having been built about the time of Inachus, 
several ages before the reigns of Cecrops and Deu¬ 
calion : had not Pausanias therefore reason to say, 


I* Homer Iliad. II?, v. 685. Strab, I. 9. 


2^0 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. II* 


that if the ancient lonians had their name from Ion, 
the son of Xuthus, it was only by way of addition, 
Non miitationem eis atlulit^ sed additamentum. 
This is most certain and indisputable ; and I can* 
not imagine how the Greeks, who pretended to so 
much skill in antiquity, could think or write other¬ 
wise* 

We must distinguish therefore between these two 
sorts of lonians, I mean the aneient ones,who had their 
name as well as their origin from Jaon, and were cal- 
cd Jaonians, or lonians, for the easier pronuneia- 
tion ; and the new ones, who indeed had their name 
from Ion, the grandson of Hellenus : the same thing 
is to be observed in respect to the lonick or Ionian 
language, for there were two sorts of it, viz. the 
ancient lonick, which was spoken in Athens, and. 
the neighbouring parts, before the time of Cecrops, 
and there is reason to believe that it was the same as 
the Attick tongue of those times; and the modern 
lonick, that had its name from Ion, the greatgrand- 
son of Deucalion, and it was this that in process of 
time came to be distinguished from the Attick dia¬ 
lect. What has been said concerning the Ionian* 


Taus. I. 7, 


CHAP. II. 


OF NATIONS. 


\ 




may also be applied to the Eolians and Dorians, 
since it is certain there were two sorts of them, the 
ancient and modern. 


For the easier understanding of this matter, it must 
be remembered that Jaon or Javan, the father of 
the Greeks, had several sons, the eldest of whom 
was named Elisa, for so Moses calls him.^® This 
person had the peninsula of Greece for his share, 
W’hich was afterwards called Peloponnesus, and his 
name has been preserved not only by the country, 
called Elidis, but also by a river, named Elissa, 
that falls into the sea near Cyllene, and which was 
a port of the Elians. Josephus in his Antiquities 
says,^"^ that the descendants of Elisa w'ere at first 
called Eliseans, but afterwards Eolians. This is 
confirmed by St. Jerome in his Hebrew Traditions, 
by Eustathius of Antioch, in his Commentaries upon 
the Hexameron, and by St. Isidore, in his Origines. 
It cannot be denied that the posterity of Elisa had 
the name of Eolians, for they were, without any 
dispute, the first people of Greece, after the Jaoni- 
ans or lonians ; but part of them had also in very 
early times the name of Dorians: so that these first 

** Gen. X. 4. 

ii Joseph. 1. 1. c. *7. 




TIIE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. II. 


people of Peloponnesus were divided into Eolians 
and Dorians, each of which had their particular di¬ 
alect, called the Eolick and Dorick. The first of 
these chiefly obtained in Elis, Arcadia, and the 
neighbouring countries, and the other was spoken 
in Laconia and Argolis, 

I am not certain but that the name of Dorians, 
which is very ancient, might come from the Greek, 
Aofy, which formerly signified a bark or ship, and so 
by^ Dorians may be implied no more than seamen 
or sailors. It is certain that these first Dorians of 
Peloponnesus were great sailors, and that it was by 
the help of their barks or ships that they fixed the 
first colonies that ever were in the isles of Crete 
and Rhodes, and in several other islands in the 
Egean and Ionian seas; as also in Sicily. Hence it 
was that the people of these islands were from very 
early times esteemed Dorians, and their language 
always considered as Dorick. These Dorians being 
settled very early in the isle of Rhodes, they car¬ 
ried colonies by sea into several other parts, and 
especially to the coasts of Gaul, near the Rhone, 
as ancient history explains to u§. 

The Grecians, I mean the most learned of them, 











CHAP. II. 


OF NATIONS. 


«23 


have fancied that the Eolick tongue had its name 
from Eolus, the eldest son of Ilellenus: JEolicciy 
said 3amhlicus^^ quce ab JEolo nomen sortita est: 
they had the same notion of the Dorick, and that it 

V 

came from Dorns, the second son of that prince. 
But it is a manifest error whether in Jambiicus or 
the other Greeks that went before him. It is my 
decided opinion that the Eolick, and the same may 
be said of the Djrick tongue, was of so ancient a 
standing, especially in the territories of Pelopon¬ 
nesus, as to precede the times of Hellenus and his 
father Deucalion above a thousand years ; for if 
is very evident that this language which afterw’ards 
spread so much, was in use in the time that Jupiter 
and his father Saturn reigned in Greece : and there¬ 
fore it must have been in use even in Abraham’s 
days; and it is upon account of (he great antiquity 
of the Eolick tongue, that Josephus in his history 
of the Jews says that the posterity of Elisa were 
afterwards called Eolians.’^ 

Here I would have it observed, that these Eoli- 
ans multiplied very much in Elidis, and yet more in 
Arcadia^ which was in the middle of Peloponnesus; 

Jamb. c. 53. 

•9 Jos, Aut, 1. 1. c. 7, 


^HE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP, iri 




and as the most ancient Arcadians bore also the 
name of Pelasgians, and under it formed several' 
colonies both in Greece and Italy, it is not easy to 
conceive how much the Eolick tongue spread it. 
self every way by means of these settlements: hence 
it was that Strabo made no scruple to say, that all 
the Grecians that lived without the Peloponnesian 
Isthmus, excepting the Athenians, Megarians, and 
Dorians, who dwelt towards Mount Parnassus, were 
then even in liis time reckoned Eolians : omnes enhn 
Greedy qui extra Isthmum sunt, exceptis Athenien- 
sibus, Megarensibus, Doriensibus, qui drea Par^^ 
nassum degunt, Kal vZv sn ^AioXtTs KxXtivlxf, etia?n 
nunc Eoles vocantur*^^ It is therefore certain that 
the Eolians, who had their origin in Peloponnesus, 
overspread all Greece by the several settlements 
which the Pelasgians made in Arcadia: this was the 
manner in which the Eolick tongue prevailed so 
much; and we find it proved by several parts of 
history, that it was fixed in Thessaly long before 
the reign of Cecrops and Deucalion: how can the 
Greeks then assert, that the Eolians and the Eolick 
dialect came from the grandson of Deucalion, whose 
name was Eolus? this cannot be, and therefore 
ought to be rejected as palpably false, 

Strabo, 1,8, 




ciiAr. II. 


OF NATION?. 


225 


But lest it should be imagined by some, that this 
language of the ancient Eolians was only confined 
to the provinces of Greece, it spread itself in th© 
early ages of time, eyen to the heart of Italy; 
and we have reason to believe that the Arcadians 
were the principal people who brought it thither^ 
first under the name of Eonotrians, and then under 
that of Pelasgians, and perhaps under some other 
yet more ancient than either; though altogether 
unknown to us. What, however, is to be depend¬ 
ed upon in this matter is, that the first and most 
ancient language of the Latins, which was called 
Prisca by St. Isidore in his Origines, and which we 
consider to have been in use, even in the time of 
Saturn and Janus, was made from the language of 
the ancient Eolians, as we shall see hereafter. That 
ancient Latin tongue now mentioned, was called 
that of the aborigines, and those people, accord¬ 
ing to the most learned of the Homan authors, came 
from Peloponnesus. Upon which Dionysius of Hali¬ 
carnassus says very justly, that if what they w rite 
concerning the aborigines be true, they must needs 
come from Arcadia: quod si istorum sana est nar¬ 
ration non possunt esse coloni alterius generis quam 
Arcadici. Now the aborigines being, according 
to his opinion, descended from the Arcadians of 


Q 


226 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. H. 


Peloponnesus, it is not to be wondered at, that the 
language of these ancient Latins was so like that of 
the ancient Eolians, which chiefly prerailed in Ar¬ 
cadia. 

It being evident, therefore, that the language of 
the aborigines of Italy, who were esteemed to be 
the first Latins, for the most part consisted of that 
of the Eolians of Greece, it clearly follows that the, 
ancient Eolick tongue could neither have its name, 
nor its origin from Eolus, the eldest son of Helle- 
nus, as Jamblicus, after other Greek authors as¬ 
serts, The reason is })lain, for the aborigines ex¬ 
isted many ages, not only before the time of Hel- 
lenus and his son Eolus, but even before that of 
Cecrops and Deucalion. Hence it is, and 1 consi-- 
der it as an observation never made by any other 
before me, that the Latins never called the people 
of Greece, Hellenes, w hich, however, is the name 
they gave themselves; but always Grai or Grseci, 
because the aborigines were a people long before 
Deucalion came to settle in Greece, and his son 
Hellenus gave the name of Hellenes to its inhabit¬ 
ants : they were before called Tpochs, Graii^ or. 
else rpa/Vo/, Greed. This name the ancient Latins 
retained, not having heard their fathers ever men- 



eiiAP. If. 


OF NATIOXS. 


227 


tion that of Hellenes, which the Graeclans did not 
assume, till after the reign of Hellenus and his chil- 
drcn. This remark, which very distinctly shew* 
the antiquity .of the Eolick tongue, should becare> 
fully noted. 

But there is another of still greater importance, 
for it relates to the same Eolick tongue, and plainly 
shews that it has borrowed an infinity of things from 
the Celtick or Gaulish language. And in order that 
it may not be thought, that I would either impose 
upon the world, or speak at random, I shall pro¬ 
duce several words of the ancient Eolick language, 
which could come from no other than the Celtae, 
even when they went by the name of Titans, and 
were masters of all Greece. I might in this place 
set down all the numerals, from one to ten, or ra¬ 
ther twenty, from twenty to a hundred, and so on 
to a thousand. The two languages agree so well in 
this, that there is no room to contest it. These, 
numbers we may perhaps produce in another place, 
where the reader may better judge of them; by the 
way, however, let me ask whence the Eolians made 
the word nsjo^sf, quatuor^ (or Tia-a-xfesy but from the 
Ccltlck peioar, four? whence their rieV'?*, quinque, 
(for the vulgar nivli) but frora^ the pomp of the 


OQg THE ANTIQUITIES CHAP. II. 

V 

Celtac, which signifies five? Again, docs not 
decern^ ten, come from the dec of the Celtae or 
Gauls; and these last also say daoudec^ to signify 
twelve, from which came the of the Gre¬ 

cians : so much for numbers. 

We shall now take notice of several other words 
in the ancient Eolick, in order to shew the likeness 
there is between them and those of the Celtick tongue. 
We read in ancient authors that the Eolians said 
M£<V, mensis^ a month, for M^v, and they had this 
from the mis of the Celtaj. They said roo®-, vininnj 
wine, for because the Celtae still use the 

word goin or gmin for the same, and thence, by 
the way, baragoin in that language properly sig¬ 
nifies a man that speaks ill, because he does but 
begin to speak, with asking for bread and wine, 
which are the chief necessaries of life : for the word 
goin signified wine amongst the Gauls; so bara did 
bread, and hence came the Greek word Bofa, in 
Latin, cibus^ esca^ for food in general: the Eo¬ 
lians used Aav®', collis^ for Bay®-, from the dun of 
the Celtae, which signified a hill or eminence. Hence 
the modern word dunes for sand hills ; Aw©- was 
used by the Eolians for Ew®-, jugum^ a yoke, be¬ 
cause a yoke is a thing that is carried, and the same 


CIIAf, II. 


OF NATIONS. 


229 


comes from the Cel tick dougtten^ to carry: the 
Eolians said instead of for a hog, from 

the Cehick porch; and nvlt^y instead of 
puteusy a pit, from the Celtick word puntSy which 
signified the same thing. 

Let us go yet a little farther, for the better illus¬ 
tration of what I have advanced : the Eolians said 
Bfv9 for mammay a woman’s breast, which the Celtse 
anciently and still call bron; and when infants want 
to suck, they say mambroriy being as much in the 
ancient Latin, as mamma da mammamy mother, 
give me the breast: for the mama of the ancient 
Latins came from mam^ mother, among the Celtse, 
and from mam came also the mamma of the Latins. 
Again, the lata of the ancient Latins, as also of the 
Greeks, signified a father, because the Gaulish 
word iaty from which children made iata^ implied 
the same thing: the like may be said of papay which 
signifies father in Celtick; but let us now return to 
the ancient Greek. 

The Eolians were wont to say K«J/ov, carruSy be¬ 
cause carr amongst the Gauls was a cart. They 
said Afyf, quercusy an oak, for dent in Celtick is 
the same thing, and from thence came the word 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP, If, 


^30 


druida, which is the druid of the Gauls, that pro¬ 
perly speaking, signified divining by oaks: the 
Eolians said KavvuCis, canabis^ and the Celtae canub^ 
hemp; they used for alius^ from the all of 

the Celfae, that signified another; chorus, a 

heart, from (he CeJtick c/ior ; KayXo^, caw/rV, colc- 
worls, from the Celtick caul; Kpinoy, cranium, 
from the crene of the Celtje, a skull; they used 
NflfToy. Insula, an island, and the Celtae did enes: 
the ancient Grecians said (po^y©-, furnus, and the 
CeKae forn, for an oven, (plpos was their word for 
forum, because the Celtaj used feur or foir,*to sig¬ 
nify a fair or market. The Eolian word rjkhs 
iuPf came from the Celtick a vulture. They 
also said qiiisguilhe, from the Celtick scu- 

belen, sweepings or ordures. The ancient Greek 
word o^pxZs, rumor, clamor, they had from the Cel¬ 
tick, Irons, which signified noise: and ’'a^x, vin- 
cvlum, they had from the Celtick, ajnar for a band : 
they also used Baw from the Celtick bac, a boat, to 
pass the water. 

I could easily produce many other words, to 
shew, and that plainly enough, that the Greek 
tongue, and especially the Eolick dialect, borrow¬ 
ed a great deal from the Celtick, or ancient Gaul. 




CHAT. II. 


or NATIONS. 


231 


ish language, which still survives in Bretagne in 
France: and if those already produced be not 
enough, I shall elsewhere enumerate as many as 
seven or eight hundred, which will set the matter 
beyond all manner of dispute. In the mean time 
they need for their present satisfaction to do no more 
than peruse the table annexed to this book, and 
there they will meet with about a hundred Greek 
words, which are manifestly borrowed from the 
Ccltick tongue^ which is still adiving language in 
some parts of Europe, as is well known to many 
learned men. 

• Those who arc so fond of (he Greek tongue, and 
indeed too much prejudiced in favour of it, will not 
fail to say upon this occasion, that the Celtce borrow¬ 
ed these words, and many more from it; and that it 
is not likely that the Grecians, Avho were so polite, 
a people, should borrow' so much from Barbarians; 
but this objection, which is only a specious one,, 
may be easily answered. 

In the first place it is immediately evident, that 
the Celtick words, which I have produced, are 
more simple than the Greek ones, as most of them 
are no other than monosyllables, whereas the other 


232 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. II, 


are disyllables; and if any of the Celtick words be 
so, they are not so frequent: it is therefore plain, 
enough, that the Greek words have been taken 
from the Celtick, and not the Celtick from them : 
for it is a general rule almost in all languages, that 
the longer and larger words are derived from the 
shorter and more simple ones: but hero is a second 
and more dccisive.answer. 

The Greeks towards the early times of the post¬ 
diluvian world, 1 speak of the days of Abraham, 
and the other patriarchs, were for above three hun¬ 
dred years together, under the dominion of the 
Titans, from whom the Celtse came; for as I have 
often said already, Uranus, their prince, Saturn, 
his son, and his grandson, Jupiter, reigned over 
and among the Grecians in those very ancient times: 
the language, therefore, of those people, who va¬ 
lued themselves so much, had then no other sort of 
refinement in it but that of the Barbarians, for so 
they were pleased to call all other nations: but sup¬ 
posing it even had been as polite as afterwards it 
proved, it had been impossible for the Grecians^ 
when they were necessitated to submit to the yoke 
of the conquerors, not to receive also much of their 
language: for in a word, it has been always expe^ 



CHAP. II* 


OF NATIONS. 


233 


rienccd, that those who have had power enough to 
make others submit to their dominion, have at the 
same time subjected them to their language, at least 
in many respects, as well as to their laws and cus¬ 
toms. If it be but remembered what I have said be¬ 
fore of the Spartans and Lacedemonians, the reader 
would be convinced that the most celebrated Gre¬ 
cians assumed the customs and manners of the Ti¬ 
tans, and there is no doubt, but that they also 
adopted the words of their language : the ancient 
Latins did the same, and therefore the Grecians 
in doing it were not singular. 

But if, notwithstanding all these reasons, which 
seem to be so convincing, there may be some so un¬ 
willing to be convinced as yet to reject them, un¬ 
less they have at least the authority, or rather con¬ 
fession of some learned Greek in addition : wc shall 
now endeavour to give them full satisfaction in this 
particular. I hope they will not reject the testi¬ 
mony of a celebrated man, but one very zealous for 
the honour of his language, who knew all the ele¬ 
gance of it, and loved and cultivated it more than 
any Greek whatever. I speak of Plato: this phi¬ 
losopher, as much as he idolized his native language, 
was by the very power of truth forced in one of his 







' 234 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. I'l. 


books to acknowledge that the Grecians took se¬ 
veral words from the Barbarians, and this con¬ 
fession is made even in his Cratylus, which is a 
dialogue, in which he treats expressly of the etymo¬ 
logy of a great many Greek words. It is very well 
'known he had no better success in his undertaking 
than ^arro had in his researches upon the Latin 
tongue: but that is irrelevant to the present 
purpose. We come now to the confession of 
this celebrated Grecian, in searching the origin of 
these two words, and ignis S) aqita^ i, e. 
fire and water. 

' He confesses at first, that he found it difficult to 
make the discovery ; and as he could not trace their 
origin in the Greek, he w as-forced to seek it amongst 
the Barbarians, as knowing the Grecians took a great 
many words from them, lleot' equiclein, speaking 
in the name of Socrates, Multa nomina Grcecos 
a harharis hahiiisse and adds, that it would 
be to no purpose to seek for the etymology 
of these words in the Greek tongue. Then he 
owns that the word must necessarily have been 
taken from the barbarians; saying, vide itaque ne 
nomcn hoc uZf.Uarbaricum sit ncque enim facile est 


Plato in Cratylo. Clem. Alex. 1. 1. 


GlIAP. II. 


OF NATIONS^ 


235 


istud Grceccs linguce accommodare. At last he con¬ 
fesses it to be Phrygian, which people pronounced 
it almost in the same manner as the Grecians. He 
afterwards adds, that it must be so with regard to 
and xvvaf, which in his opinion were also taken 
from the Phrygians, as well as many others: con» 
statque^ says he, ita hoc Phryges nominare^ pariim 
quid declinantis^ sicut Sf vocem Sf Kv>xfy id est^ 
aqua 6^ canes aliaque permulta. Plato ingeniously 
confesses that all that is true; vera hcec sunt: and 
hence tliere is no room left to doubt it. 

It is acknowledged that these three words came 
from the barbarians; and though Plato had de¬ 
nied it, which, however, he does not, it would 
still be true : but he is mistaken in making them 
all three to be Phrygian, for there is only the 
i word UZ^^Jire^ which is so, and therefore vve find it 
at this day in the Teiitonick language: for the 
Germans say/ewr, and some Saxons far for fire. 
As for the other two, r'Srcf and they were taken 
from the Celtick, for the .first, by transposing the 
comes from dour^ which among the Celtas signifies 

t 

water ; and I find some of them anciently said 7/dor, 
which signified the same thing : as fotKvvxsy it is de¬ 
rived from cww, canis^ or the plural couny dogs in 




236 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. II. 


the Celtick tongue. Plato therefore was not rais- 
taken^ in saying that these three words, and a great 
many more came from the Barbarians. Had Aris¬ 
totle’s book, which he wrote upon this subject, 
under the title of Nomina Barbarica ^ been handed 
down to our time, we should perhaps have met 
with things upon this subject, to which we are now 
utter strangers. 

Lastly, Why should those who are so much bi¬ 
assed in faTOur of the Greek tongue, scruple to own 
that it has been beholden to the Barbarians, since 
it cannot be denied but that it took its name from 
them; that is, from llellenus and his children, the 
descendants of Deucalion. For the Greeks them¬ 
selves call their language no other than X'hucTa-x 
Lingua Uellenica^ and a Grecian among 
them is not called rpx/Ko^, but Hellenes^ 

they being proud of this name, which they have so 
carefully adopted, as being descended from llellenus, 
who was a foreigner, and a barbarian by descent, 
as well as his father Deucalion. Jamblicus, how¬ 
ever, informs us that some authors maintained that 
the Greeks called the Hellenick tongue, came from 
this Deucalion: Quidam perhihent^ says he, Lin* 
guam turn Grcecaniciimy turn eliam ^olicani» Deu* 


CHAP. II, 


237 


OF NATIONS. 

calionis donum esse Sf munus. If Deucalion made 
this present to theGreeks who succeeded him, those 
who are prejudiced in their favour, have no cause to 
believe and say, that they have taken nothing from 
strangers, whom they were pleased to call barba¬ 
rians. 

Before i conclude this chapter concerning the 
, Greeks and their language, 1 must not forget to 
observe that the two names which they anciently 
had, that is, before the time of Hellenus, who af¬ 
fected to have them called Hellenes, were rpxTis^ 
Grait, and Greedy as before noted, aud that 

both these signified properly, no more than Veteres^ 
or Antiquiy old, ancient. For the true Greeks were 
regarded as the ancient inhabitants of the country: 
and I am very much mistaken if the name of the Eo- 
lians did not imply the same thing, though there may 
be some difficulty in theexplanatioa of it. Butenough 
of the affinity between the Greek and Celtick lan¬ 
guages, let us now come to that of the Latins. 


238 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. Ill** 


CHAP. Ill 


Of the ancient Language of the Aborigines^ since 

called Latins, 


Before i express my opinions concerning the 
language used by the people of Italy, anciently call¬ 
ed aborigines, and afterwards Latins, I shall in 
the first place premise somewhat concerning the 
origin of them : for, having very sedulously examined 
whatever the learned have said upon this subject, I 
have reason to believe that these ancient people 
came from the Ausones. In short, when Elian, 
an author well known, speaks of them, he says ex¬ 
plicitly that they were the first, and consequently 
the most ancient inhabitants of Italy; his words 
are these, T^y IraX/ay wx>j<ray mquroi "Avaons^ avio^Qons.^ 
lialiam omnium yrimiinhabitarunt Ausones^ indi^ 


^ I ;EIian. Var. Hist. 1. c. 16. 










CHAP. ni. 


t)F NATIONS. 


^39 


gencB': by which we may see, that the Ausones were 
not only the first people that inhabited Italy, but 
that they were looked upon as indigence^ and born 
in the country ; and though in reality this is not 
true, for they came from another country, yet it 
indicates their great antiquity, and inclines us to 
believe that Italy had no inhabitants before them; 


It is certain that when the Oenotrians, a very 
ancient colony of Arcadians, came to settle in Italy 
above fifteen hundred years before our Saviour was 
born, the Ausonians had inhabited this fine country 
long before. This is what we learn from Nicandcr, 
who informs us that these new coQiers drove the 

Ausones out of their ])ossessions, ris 

\ 

i^xvQotAva-ovxs : Pulsisque Ausonibus^ quitum 
inhabilabanty ipsi sedes posuerunt.^ The Auso¬ 
nians must have been a long time in Italy, and in 
great numbers too,when the Oenotrians came thither 
from Arcadia, for tliey gave name to that sea, which 
is beyond Italy, called the Ansonian, and afterwards 
the Tuscan sea; and therefore it is not strange, 
that the Greeks from the earliest time gave Italy the 
name of Ausonia as well as that of Hesperia : the 


2 Nican. apud Anton. Liberal. Metamor. c. 31. 


240 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. III. 


words of Dionysius of Halicarnassus are to this ef¬ 
fect ; Superiori tempore Greed Hesperiam aut Au^ 
soniam^ earn vocabant: indigence Saturniam and 
we find from the excellent Commentaries of Servius 
that it had the name of Ausonia before that of Sa» 
turnia.^ But how could the Grecians in those early 
times call it Ausonia, unless it were that they knew 
it was inhabited by the Ausones. 

Authors have given no account from whence 
these Ausones had their origin ; but were I to ha¬ 
zard a conjecture, I should say that these first in¬ 
habitants of Italy came hither probably from the 
most western part of Peloponnesus, where there 
was a country, called Aulona, situated between the 
territories of the Eleans and Messenians.^ Some of 
the inhabitants of this country having very early 
passed over into the lower parts of Italy, at first 
went by the name of Aulones ; either because they 
came from the place now mentioned, or because 
they dwelt in valleys, as being the richest and most 
fertile soil. In process of time they had, by way 
of softening the word, the name of Ausones : nd 

3 Dionys. Halicar.l. n. 11. 

* Servius in C. 8. 

* Strab. c. 8. Pans, 1. 4. 

,. * Strabo Stephanas & alii. 


eiiAP. 


OF NATIONS. 


241 


these are the people, if I am not mistaken, that 
built the very ancient city of Aulonia in the lower 
part of Italy, otherwise called Caulonia, and which 
might be taken from that of the Ausones, which in 
all probability was the first name those people had.7 
These Auloues, or rather Ausones, finding them¬ 
selves incommoded by the arrival of more Greeks 
among them, and especially by divers barbarous 
people that came into Italy,® (for never any coun¬ 
try in these early days of the world was more in¬ 
fested than it was, as might easily be demonstrated), 
several of them retired for their safety into the 
mountains, that are about the middle of the country. 
It is probable these w ere the people who afterwards 
had the name of Aborigines, either because they 
dwelt in the mountains, as Dionysius of Halicar¬ 
nassus intimates,^or because they were the otfspriug 
of those first people that settled in Italy, and who 
were the Ausones that came from Greece. Tin's, 
after a serious and diligent examination of things, 
is what to me appears most probable couccining 
them. 

7 Strabo, Stephanus, & alii. 

* /iTJian. Var. 1.9. c. lb. ‘ 

9 Dionys. Haticarn. 1. 1. n. 10. v, 13. 

R 


4 





242 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. III. 


Belief however is a matter of freedom : but this 
is at least certain, tliat these Aborigines, who lived 
about the centre of Italy, in the countries adjoining 
to the Tyber, came originally from Greece, and in 
all appearance from Peloponnesus. The most 
learned among the Romans, such as Portius Cato, 
Caius Sempronius, and some others, agree, ac¬ 
cording to Dionysius in his Roman Antiquities, in 
this particular; but supposing they had not, we 
could not be of any other opinion than this, since 
the language of these Aborigines was very like 
that of the Greeks, and especially of the Eolians 
of Peloponnesus. This, in short, is what may be 
said of the origin of the Ausones and Aborigines, 
their descendants : but as the beginning of them is 
very obscure, there are two reasons for it; first, 
because there are no ancient writings of them 
transmitted down to our days; and secondly, 
because that in those early times Italy was full of 
barbarians, who produced confusion and disorder 
wherever they came. 

' » 

The truth of this assertion may be doubted ; and 
yet it would be easy to enumerate ton or a dozen 
'oreign nations that seized upon it; that Elian 
had reason to say, that this fine part oTEurope was 


CHAP. ill. 


OF NATIONS. 


243 


inhabited by* several sorts of people, even more than 
any other country whatsoever. T«y irxKix^ (pxa-U 
ojKva-av idv*) •na^'troKXx* In Italia iiermultoi variosque 
populos habitasse ferunt^ pluresque idern^ quam in 
iilla alia terra: and in that respect Italy has been no 
more fortunate than Greece ; for both the one and 
the other of them in those first ages .of the world 
were over run with barbarians ; but let us say no 
more of those nations, whose memory is in a man¬ 
ner wholly effaced by time, and return to our 
Aborigines, 

' These were a considerable people for two reasons, 
both because they were the most aucienf of any 
in all Italy ; Gens aniiqaissima Italice^ says Festus 
Pompeius,^® and because they were always consider¬ 
ed as the origin and founders of the Romans, awc- 
tores conditoresque Romani generis. I have said 
enough concerning the origin of them, that they 
came from Greece; and I shall add something re¬ 
specting their ancient place of residence. We find by 
accurate research, into antiquity, that in times as 
early as those of Abraham, or at least of his son, 
the Aborigines dwelt about the Tiber, where the 

Fest. Fomp. Aborig^ities, Dionys. Ilarlicar. 1. 1. 

11 2 






THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. 'ill. 


Vcity 6f Rome as afterwards built. There it was , 
that they lived in the reign of Janus the elder, for 
there was another of the name afterwards, when 
Saturn fled to Italy for refuge against the violences 
of his son Jupiter: and this made an ancient author, 
who wrote upon the Origin of the People of Rome, 
say, Jgiiur Juno regnante apud iruligenas rudes in~ 
cultosque ScUurnus regno profugi/s^ cum in Italiam 
venissety benigne exceptus hospitio est,^^ This is 
confirmed by Servius in his Commentaries, and se* 
veral others. 

The first author I have cited, had previously said 
Cerium est prior cm Janum in lialiam devenisse^ 
ub eoque posted venientem exceptum esse Saturnum: 
and further,it was an uninterrupted tradition,handed 
down by the Saturnian verses, which were esteemed ' 
very ancient,that the same princes, I mean Janus and | 
■ Saturn, had given Rome its first beginnipg; that the 1 
Janiculum had its name from (he first, and that the J 
other had left his to the citadel called Saturnia : | 
Ibique hand procul Janiculo^ Artem suo nomine I 
Saturniam constitiiit. It is upon the authority ofj 
these traditions that Virgil calls the ancient monu- I 


” Auctor Oridn..Ge'nt, Roman. 


or NATIONS. 


245 ' 


CHAP. Ill, 

, ments, Vivum monimenta priorum ; for the Abori¬ 
gines had no other ; 

Hanc Janus Pater^ hanc Saturnus condidit urlem^ 

Janiculum huiCy illifuerat Saturnia nornen. 

Upon which Servius, after he had shewn how 
Janus received Saturn, who fled for refuge from his 
son Jupiter, says explicitly, that this exiled prince 
built a city upon a hill, where in process of time 
the capital was erected, Saturnus sibi eppidum fe“ 
cit sub clivo Capitolino ubi nunc cedes ejus videlurJ^ 

It was therefore a matter of certainty among the 
Romans, that Saturn reigned for some years with 
Janus over the Aborigines,and that he built a city or 
citadel in the place where Koine many years after was 
founded. Rome therefore owes its first beginning 
to Saturn, and consequently to a Titan prince, a 
king of the ancient Cclta?, or Gauls; a thing very 
remarkable, and never discovered till this period. 
Indeed the Roman authors are in the wrong, and. 
do themselves an injury, in regarding Satiun as an 
exiled prince ; for Italy, and all the west was under 
his dominion when he was overthrown by his son 




Ser. Com. in 1. 8, An. 


>46 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. Illi 


he retired to Janus, whom he had made king over 
this part of Italy, and this with no other design than 
to renew the war: and his flight to this prince, who 
was subject to him, was no other than' a retreat, 
and no banishment, as some historians would have 
it. 

\ 

But to return to the city- or citadel built by Sa¬ 
turn, of which there were nothing but some ruins 
remaining, in the time of Eneas, according to Virgil. 
Time that consumes all things, and the war of the 
Siculi, were perhaps the causes of these desolations : 

' 1 say the war of the Siculi, for these people, who 
seem to have been the Ligurian Ccltse, drove the 
Aborigines away from about Rome, and the Tiber, 
and forced them to remove higher up tow'ards the 
mountainous parts, and the Cutulian lake ; whence 
Dionysius of Ilallcarnassiis says, Urbem quamnunc 
J\om(t7ii habitant^ omnium quorum ext at memoria^ 
autiquixsimam ienuiase feruntur barbari Siculi. The 
Siculi or Ligurians made themselves therefore mas¬ 
ters of tliose places, which had been built by Janus 
and Saturn, but a long time after their reigns; 
There is also rer^son to believe that tlie Umbrians, 
A»ho were neighbours, liad seized on them before 
the Siculiy by whom they were taken from them. 


cTiAP. nr. 


OF NATIONS. 


247 


Be this as it may, the Aborigines finding themselves 
driven from their ancient habitations, retired a little 
h;gher, that is, towards the country, which lies be¬ 
tween the Nar, Anio and Aternus ; (these being the 
ancient names of those rivers,) and the country was 
crossed and w'atercd by the Velino, it being esteem¬ 
ed the middle and heart of Italy. A little below 
this river was the city of Lista, which was consi¬ 
dered as the metropolis of these people : Listame- 
iropolis Aboriginum but tins city having been 
surprised in the night by their enemies, the Abori¬ 
gines retired to Ileati, now called Rieti. 

It is manifest from ancient history, that tliey 
possessed the country about that city, and the Cu- 
tulian lake, which is not far distant, when the Pe- 
lasgians, who came from Thessaly in Greece, united 
with them ; and this union happened some time 
after the death of Deucalion, about sixteen hundred 
years before our Saviour’s birthd^ The Abori¬ 
gines being by this junction grown' stronger and 
more numerous, soon after extended their power 
very much, and in their turn drove tlje Siculiaway 

from about the Tiber, and the neighbourhood of 

# 

Ilalicar. ib. n. 14. 

U Ib. n. 19. QO. 


^18 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. Ill. 


Rome, which they had formerly possessed, and in i 
process of time made themselves masters of the 
greatest part of the country, situated between the 
Liris and the Tiber, that is from Rome and Ostia, as 
far as Cajeta and Minturnae, towards the borders of 
Campania: Subjiceruntque sibitotum id terrarum 
spatium quod amnes duos Liris et Tybcristerminani: 
Thus it is that Dionysius of Halicarnassus explains it, 
and adds besides, that the Aborigines preserved their 
ancientname to the timeof the Trojan war : for then 
it was that they were called Latins from their king 
Latinus, who was the prince that gave Eneas such 
a kind reception. At last the city of Rome, after 
a series of some ages, having been founded, they 
assumed the name of Romans, which afterwards 
proved so great and famous over all the world. 

My work would still be imperfect,notwithstanding 
all that I have said of the Aborigines, from whom 
the ancient Latins, and afterwards the Romans 
came, if I did not attempt to ascertain w'hat lan¬ 
guage they spoke : for indeed it was with this view 
tliat 1 have already said somewhat concerning their 
ancient settlement, aud first origin. It is well know’n 
that the Romans having by their valour and conduct 
conquered the Greeks, who were the politest and 



CHAP. III. 


OF NATIONS. 


24^ 


at the same time the wisest men in the world, af¬ 
fected to imitate them, as well in their manners and 
customs, as in the beauty and'politeness of their lan¬ 
guage ; but in doing this they likewise imbibed their 
pride and vanity; for they began to contemn 
other nations, and to esteem all people barbarians, 
that were not Grecians or Romans, though they 
ought to have remembered that they themselves not 
long before were treated in the same manner ; and 
this made Festus Pompeius, or rather Varius Flac- 
cus say, that all nations excepting the Grecians, 
were anciently callcd.barbarians: Barbari dice ban- 
\ tur aniiquitus omnes Genies exceptis Grecis:'^ The 
j Romans themselves were not excepted, and we 
find that Plautus calls Najvius, a celebrated La¬ 
tin poet by this epithet: Plautus Ncevium poeiam 
harbarum dixit j and Plautus speaking of his own 
version of a piece of Greek into Latin, says, ilL 
Alliens^ for that was his name, vertit barlare. 

Now since the Romans, some time before the em¬ 
pire came into the hands of the Caesars, designated 
i themselves as barbarians, and that even in their own 
opinion, they ought to have been more modest in 


Pomp. Fest. 




250 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. III». 


respect to other nations; but it is a certain rule, 
that a potent, vain, and proud nation never is so. 
Since therefore they value themselves too much to 
believe, and have forgotten, or rather perhaps been 
ignorant of the obligations they lay under-to those 
.whom they have called barbarians, it is fit posterity 
should knoSv it. I could shew that the Latins bor¬ 
rowed many considerable things from them, but 
that would be too great a digression : I shall con¬ 
tent myself here with simply speaking of their lan ¬ 
guage, which'they have so much boasted of. I , 
venture to affirm, and shall soon make it appear, 
that a great part of it came neither from them nor I 
the Grecians, as they have fancied, but that it was j 
taken from the CeUae, or Gauls, who in ancient ; 
times reigned over them under the name of Titans, 
and who consequently intermixed with them in the 

. i 

early ages of the world. 

i 

For the better clearing up of this matter, it will 
be sufficient to shew, that the ancient language of 
the Latins or Aborigines was founded upon, or de¬ 
rived from that of the Greeks, and more especially 
of the Eolians. who came originally from Pelopon¬ 
nesus: and this will be no difficult task since we 
find that Ennius, who was one of the most learned. 



CHAP. III. 


OF NATIONS. 


251 


men of his time, frankly owns, that the Latiii 
tongue seemed to have been formerly the same as the 
Greek, except in the pronunciation, which was a 
little different : quod olim lingua Grecice gentis 
Juerit eadem cum Latina^ parum prolatione mu- 
tata}^ Dionysius of Hallicarnassus also does not 
differ much from this opinion, for in speaking of 
the Romans, he says their language is neither wholly 
barbarous nor wholly Greek, but an intermixture 
of both, except that in many things it has consider¬ 
ably imitated the Eolick dialect; his words are 
these, Romani autem sermone nec prorsus Barbara 
sive absolute Grcuco utuntur^ sed ex utroque mixtoi^ 
accedenie in plerisqiie ad proprictatem lingux 
JEolicoeP This observation deserves considerable 
attention. 

Varro, the most learned Homan of his- time, 
Pomponins Festus, and some others of tlie ancients, 
freely own, that the Latin tongue came from the 
Greek, and especially from the Eolick; but I have 
before shewn from many convincing testimonies, 
that the Eolick among the Greeks- was full of 
words borrowed from the Celtasj and here it may 

16 Ennids apud Pom. Festnsv. Romanos. 

17 Dioys. 1. 1. 


252 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. III. 


be observed as a matter of importance, that most of 
those words borrowed from the Celtick tongue, are 
at this day to be found in the Latin, and not so 
much altered and disguised, but that they may be 
discerned without any great difficulty; whence we 
must conclude that these words came originally from 
the Celtai, who anciently imparted them to the 
Greek Eolians, and from whom the Latins or Abo¬ 
rigines had them. This,, in my opinion, Mas the 
way in which (he language of the Cellar, that is, of 
.the ancient Titans, mms incorporated w'ith that of 
the Romans, who received theirs from the Latins, j 
as these last did from the language of the Abori- ! 
gines. , . j 

Rut having mentioned the Aborigines, it is not 
enough to know, (hat Saturn, of whom so much 
has been already said, reigned over them with Ja¬ 
nus; or that Mercury, under the name of Fauniis, 
was their king, after the decease of his father Ju¬ 
piter, whose subjects also they had been. All these 
princes," and some others, were of the race of the 
Titans, the fathers of the Celtic ; and Saturn’s lan¬ 
guage must therefore have been Celtick, as I have al¬ 
ready shewn, and as this prince reigned over the Abo¬ 
rigines, in which fact the Romans themselves agree, 



CHAP. III. 


OP NATIONS, 


253 


his language must necessarily at the same time have 
been communicated to them. Nothing can be more 
probable than this, especially as we find evident to¬ 
kens of it at this day ; and hence w hen St. Isidore of 
Seville speaks of the first language of the Latins, he 
says, that the most ancient people of Italy made use 
of it in the reign of Janus and Saturn ; Prisca lin^ 
glia est qucB vetustissimiItalue^ sub Jano 6f Saturno 
sunt usiy mcondita.^^ 

This language of the first Latins was rude, gross, 
and unpolished, incondita^ according to this au¬ 
thor, who says in another place, that these people 
had the name of Saturnians, before they were call¬ 
ed Latins. Hi aatem a Saiurno Suturnii^ a 
tino Latini vocati suntd^ From hence we may 
see, it was almost impossible that the first Latins 
should have so much to do with Saturn, without 
making much use of his language, which was that 
of the court.^*^ Again, if we but recollect for a 
moment what 1 have said concerning the Umbrians 
and Sabines, we should soon be convinced, that 
their language was anciently intermixed with the 

' / 

Isidor. Origin, I. 9. c. 1. 

Il\ I. 9. c, 2. 

2o Eocchus 51. Ant.Serv. Sollti. Isidor, &c. 


254 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. 111. 


Latin. I have shewn that the Umbrians were from 
all antiquity looked upon to be a sort of Gauls, and 
as their descendants, and therefore they were called 
Gallorum veterum propago^ by ancient authors. 
It is likely that these people, who were the most 
ancient of any in all Italy, were possessed of Rome 
and the adjacent country, after the reign of Saturn 
and Janus; but they were dispossessed by the Siculi, 
who might be Ligurians, and another sort of Celtas, 
Be this as it may, the Umbrians intermixed early 
with the Aborigines, or were at least always their 
neighbours. And hence Dionysius, speaking of their 
ancient settlement, calls it Umbriam^ Aboriginibus^ 
finitimam}^ There was also a time when the Abo-, 
rigines expelled them from those seats which they 
possessed near Reate, and the Cutulian lake, along 
the river Velino : has primus sedes, says Dionysius, 
pulsis inde Umbris habuisse dicuntur Aborigines}^ 
These two people, I mean the Umbrians, who 
were the true Celtae, and the Aborigines, the an¬ 
cestors of the Latins, were neighbours a long time, 
and intermixed one with another, for nearly the 
space of a thousand years ; how then can it be said, 
that their language was not also mixed, since that 

Dion. 1. 1. n, 19. 


Ib. n. 16. 





CHAP. Ill, 


OF NATIONS, 


255 


is so easily done by neighbourhood, trade, and 
conversation ? 

Let ns now come to the Sabines, who were an¬ 
ciently a very famous people of Italy, and always 
neighbours to the Romans, and Aborigines. I have 
already, upon good authority, shewn that their true 
origin was from the Umbrians;who were always con¬ 
sidered as Celtas or Gauls, for they were called Ga/- 
lorum veierum propago : now if the Sabines, by 
the means of the -Umbrians, came from the Gauls, it 
cannot be denied but that originally they spoke their 
language also, which was Celtick,; and as those people 
incorporated with the Romans, in the time of Romu¬ 
lus, when Rome by this union became a Sabine colo¬ 
ny,^ dare we say, or is it to be believed, that the Sa¬ 
bine tongue was not at the same time intermixed and 
confounded with that of the Romans ? Things being 
thus, we must necessarily conclude, that the Celtick 
language, which was that of the Sabines, or a lan¬ 
guage not much different from it, must, in some 
sort, be that of the Romans : but though we should 
still oppose this truth, it must be finally yielded to, 
if we do but observe-the words of the ancient Ian- 

I 

Liv. I. 1. Dec, 1, Dion. Hal. 1, 2. 


256 


the antiquities 


CHAP. III. 


guage of the Sabines, which are still extant in Var- j 
ro and others ; for they are similar to those of the 
Celtae, as we shall see hereafter. 

But this is not all; I have found two ways more, 
by which the Celtick tongue might naturally 
enougli be conveyed into that of the Sabines; 
and that is by the Saturnian Verses, and AteU 
lanc comedies. But I must explain myself 
more fully upon this matter. It may have been re¬ 
marked, when I was treating of the Titans, and 
their princes and kings, that there was a sort of peo- 
, pie amongst them called Curetes, and that they 
•were those who were entrusted with the education 
of Jupiter : these were the sacrificers, philosophers, 

‘and diviners of the Titans, being much the same as 
the Magi of the Persians and Druids of the Gauls ; 
-but some of their community were poets also, who 
made verses and songs in praise of their great men, 
took care to repeat them in their public assemblies, 
and commonly at the head of their armies; for these 
.poets went likewise into war, in order thus to ex¬ 
cite the courage of those who w'ere ready‘to engage 
with the enemy : these Curetes, who were their 
. poets and diviners, like the Gaulish bards, recited 
these their verses by heart, and with a loud voice; 




CHAP. Ill* 


OF NATIONS. 


257 


and they were the only records they had, since 
writing was not in use amongst them, any more 
than among the Druids, their successors, who imi¬ 
tated them almost in every thing. 

_ t 

These Curetes or hardS) called Scalds by the 
northern people, were almost continually at court, 
where they made it their business to celebrate the 
glorious actions of their princes, and of those he¬ 
roes that went before them: when therefore Sa¬ 
turn, prince of the Titans, who had performed 
i great things in war, retired into Italy, and there 
reigned with Janus over the Aborigines, it is highly 
probable that he had some of these bards or Curetes 
to attend him, who celebrated his great actions in 
verse; hence in all probability it was, that those 
j verses made in his praise, and which had been used 
) ever since his time, were called Cnrmina Saturnalia: 
j and those which the Curetes made in succeeding 
p ages, to the honour of other princes and heroes still 
) retained this name. These verses likewise compre- 
^ hended those things that related to religion and the 
I worship of the gods ; as also the laws which were 
I made for the well government of the people, and 
i which in like manner they sung with a loud voice ; 

^ and hence it was, that the Greeks, who used this 



s 




258 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. III. 


ancient custom, called their laws No/xo/, that is, 
songs, &c. as I have elsewhere observed. 

The Aborigines and the ancient Latins had some 
of these Curetes amongst them, but they called them 
Salians, because they jumped and danced, when 
they sung their verses ; and this is acknowledged 
by Dionysius of Halicarnassus, who says, those 
Salians were the same as the Curetes : Quantum 
ego intelligo^ Solti, si Grceco nomine interpretari 
velis^ sunt Curet£S ; and even if this were 

not true, yet it cannot be denied that there were 
Curetes among the Sabines, for Varro informs 
us, that they came to Rome from the city of Cures, 
with Tatius, king of those y)cople, and that it was 
from them mount Quirinal had its name: A Curem 
iibus, says he, qiti cum T« Tatio Curibus venerunt 
' Romarn,^* 

It was from these Curetes or Salii, that those 
verses had their names, which Varro, Festus, and 
others, often call Curmina Saliorum^ or Carmina 
Saliaria they were also called Fer.v//5 Saturnii^ 
ior Festus, speaking of them, says Versus,quoque 

Var. 1. 4.n. 8. 
ss Var. Fest. &c. 


CHAP, in. 


OV NATIONS. 


259 


antiquissimi, quihus Faunas facta hominum ceci^ 
nisse videtur^ Saturnii appellantar.^^ Whatever 

related to war, laws, and religion were mostly con¬ 
tained in these verses of the Curetes or Salii; and 
as these Curetes came originally from the Titans, 
their verses or songs were full of Ccltick words, 
which were in a manner unknown to the Romans, or 
such as they understood with difficulty: indeed 
Varro, conversant as he was in this kind of anti¬ 
quity, does not scruple to own it; In hoc libro 
dicam de Poeticeis vocabuleis et eorum originibus^ 
in queis multa difficilia : But why did he meet with 
so much difficulty ? It was, says he, because many 
of these poetical words had their origin from the 
CarminaSalarta^ though they were no older than 
the time of Numa Pompilius, which was not above 
seven hundred years: Tamen habent septingentos 
annos, and which in his opinion,,and justly too, 
was the reason, why they were so obscure and diffi¬ 
cult. Blit there was another reason for it, which 
Varro knew nothing of, and that was, that most of 
I these poetical words came from a foreign language, 

I mean the language used by the Curetes, which 
was Ccltick ; insomuch that it may be said that the 


^ Fest. Sa. Var, 1. 6. 
S 2 



260 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. III.' 


Carmina solaria^ or Versus SaturnnyV^crethosaby 
•which the Celtick tongue was incorporated with 
the Latin. 

There is still another circumstance that may in** 
ducc us to believe this; theOsci, called Opiqui by the 
Greeks, were an ancient nation, and near neigh¬ 
bours to the Latins: Atella in Campania, between 
Naples and Capua, was one of their chief cities : 
and these, who were probably a merry people, 
invented plays, pleasant farces, or diverting come¬ 
dies, full of jests, which by the Romans were call¬ 
ed the Atellan plays or comedies, Ludi Atellani^ 
or Fabulce Atellance. Livy mentions them in the 
eighth book of his historyas well as other au¬ 
thors,and Tacitus calls these ^Xdiys^Oscumludicrum^ 
because they came from the Osci r® the common 
people of Rome were so fond of them, that they 
would never suffer them to be abolished, though both 
the name and the nation of the Osci were rooted 
out; hence it is that Strabo said, there happened 
something extraordinary concerning these Osci, 
which was, that though the nation was quite lost, 
yet their language survived among the Romans; 


Liv. 1. 7. 

Tacit. An. 1, 4. n. 14. 


CHAP. Ill, 


OF NATIONS. 


2G1 


TftJv /Aov yS’ *'OiTx.uv eaXtXoiTroJuyj n [Asm ma.gk roTs 

*Pu(ju)clois ; nam cum Oscorum Gens interierii^ sermo 
eorum apud Romanos restat and the way that 
it was preserved, as he insinuates, was no other than 
by means of these plays and comedies. 

Now it is certain from the v/ords which we have 
remaining of the ancient Osci, that the language 
of that nation was no other than Celtick, or at 
least very like it, as well as that of the Sabines. 
It is therefore impossible but that the Celtick lan¬ 
guage must by this means be admitted into that of 
the Romans, and be intermixed with the Latin,* 
in proof of which take the following example, 
and that in the w'ord petoritum^ about which 
the learned in ancient times were much divided, 
Festus, who, as well as many others, uses it, 
says, it signified a chariot or cart amongst the 
Gauls, and that because it had four wheels ; Pe/o- 
ritum et Gallicum vehiculum esse^ et nomen cjiis 
I dictum existimanty a numero quatuor rotarum 
the same author adds, what others affirm, that the 
word came from the Osci, because among thcra|;c* 
fora signified four, Mii Osce^ quod ii quoquepetord 

I 

^9 Strabo, 1. 5. 

S Fest. V. Petoritum. 





262 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. III*. 


qutttuor vocent^ Lastly, some alleged it to be a 
Greek word, but taken from the EoHck dialect. 
Alii Greece^ fed ; these three opi¬ 

nions, however they may seem to differ, are in fact, 
all right; for the word might have been anciently 
Eolick, and it might also come from the Osci, but 
originally from the Celta3, or Gauls, and Festus 
was correct in saying it signified a chariot with four 
wheel. Thus we find that the languages of the 
Osci in Italy, and of the Eolians in Greece, were 
similar to that of the Geltas or Gauls for this word 
is derived from those three languages, which could 
not be, if they had not in many things been like one 
another. 

Having said so much upon this occasion, there is 
nothing now remaining,in order to convince the most 
incredulous, but to take notice of several Latin 
words, that originally came from the Celtick lan¬ 
guage, and which will confirm all that I have befoie 
advanced, and make it so very manifest, that we may 
judge of it by our eyes, without using our reason¬ 
ing faculty. Varro, who in his time was regarded 
a$' the most learned of the Romans, wrote several 
books of Etymologiesj three of which he dedicated 



CHAP. iii» 


OF NATIONS. 


263 


to Cicero,liis friend, who in his turn-gives him 
such a character as he justly merited ; but we know 
very W'ell how indifferently he has succeeded in ma* 
ny instances, notwithstanding his profound learning, 
and that he proved to be no more fortunate than 
Plato, who attempted the same thing in his own 
language.But if these two great men had been 
acquainted with those languages which they called 
barbarous, and especially the Celtick and Phrygian, 
they would have discovered many things that they 
were ignorant of, and not have entertained us with 
such wretched etymologies. 

But to return to Varro. Among other reasons 
given by him for the obscurity and difficulty of ety¬ 
mologies, one is, that the Latins had changed the 
signification of many of their words, of which he 
gives us an example in the word hostis^ which an¬ 
ciently signified a host ,33 whereas in his time it im« 
ported an enemy, which he could not compieliend : 
but it is plain enough to those who have the least 
knowledge of the Celtick tongue : for hostis iimong 
them, without the change of one letter, signified 

3' Varro, I. 4. 

3^ Plat ill Cratyt. 

33 Var. 1. 4, n. 4, 




i64 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. III. 


a host, as hostisez did a hostess, and a great many 
\rords came from thence into our language ; and so 
among the ancient Latins, the word hosiis signified 
a host, as Varro has well observed, without being 
able to comprehend the reason of it. But as for the 
Latins that succeeded, they changed the true and 
ancient signification of the word, and contented 
themselves with the word hospes^ for a host. It is 
remarkable, however, that this also is a Celtick 
word, for they use osb or osp^ for a host, and thus 
these two words which signify the same thing, are 
derived from the Ceitick ; and this wx meet with 
in several others, which shews that it is not merely 
the result of chance. 

- 1 

Let us come more particularly to those things 
w'hic-h can neither be useless nor disagreeable to the 
lovers of antiquity. When Varro endeavours to 
find out the origin of the word terra^* he tells us 
upon the authority of Elius, that it was so called, 
quod ieritur^ because the earth was beaten or trod 
under foot. The Romans undoubtedly applauded his 
notion, which however is utterly false, for thoverb 
iero comes from terra, or ratlier iera, with a single 
r, for so the word was written by the ancients, and in 


Var. 1, 4. 


CHAP. Ill, 


OF NATIONS. 


265 


the books of the augurs, according to Varro’s own 
confession augurum libris scripta cum Runo : 

Whence comes it then ? No Homan could ever tell; 
it was a word which they had from the Celtaj, 
among whom ter or Hr signified earth. And as the 
earth is trodden under foot, and as it were bruised, 
from thence came the tero of the Romans. This 
learned man says afterwards, that terminus came 
from tero^ and that the ancients called it termen ; 
this is true, but its derivation is noti for, the rea¬ 
son why the ancients used the word termen, was be¬ 
cause they found termen or tirmin, signified a term, 
or bound in the Celtick tongue; but it is a com¬ 
pound word, made of ter earth, ahd men, which 
in that .language imports a stone, because that in 
ancient times, as well as* now, great stones were 
used for land-marks. But, from the ignorance in 
which the Romans were, with regard to the Celtick 
! language, it was impossible that they should ever 
1 have surmised even this. 

Let us go on with Varro: he was right in saying, 
pulmentum came from puls, as Plautus did be¬ 
fore him, but when he comes to the etymology of ' 
puls, which the ancient Latins pronounced pouls, 
he could not tell what to make of it. The word 




265 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. IIT* 


was taken verbatim from the Celtic, who used, and 
still do, the word pouls^ to signify pulmentum ,* for 
in Armorican Bretagne, the people at this day, by 
the word mean all sorts of pottage or gruel; 

and mill or millet broth, they call pouts met: thus 
we see plainly, that the Latin words puls and milium 
too, which was the mel or mete of the Celtas, haTe 
been borrowed from the Gaulish language: so that 
the ancient Latins must have had communication 
with them, be it as it may and hence it was, that 
the first Romans made use of this sort of victuals for 
many ages ; of which Pliny was fully aware, wMten 
he said, Pulte autem^ non pane vixisse longn tem¬ 
pore Romanos^ manifesium.^ This sort of food 
they had from the Aborigines, as they themselves 
had it from the Titans or Cel tie, or at least they 
imitated the Sabines and Umbrians,, who used it 
very much : and hence it is natural enough, that 
Plautus, that famous poet, and a native of Umbria, 
calls himself in some places Puliifagonides^ that is, 
il I mistake not, an eater of gruel or hasty-j)ud« 
ding. Besides, it is at this day a very usual and 
ordinary food amongst the common people in Bre¬ 
tagne, which they had from the ancient Gauls^ 





CHAP. III. 


OF NATIONS. 


267 


whose language and customs they still retain, as be¬ 
ing descended from them. But not to dwell too long 
upon this, we find that the Latins used the word 
coccum, to signify scarlet-dye, and the grain which 
in ancient times made it: they did not observe, the 
derivation of this word, any more than of their 
h^sginum^ which imports the same thing; both 
which words are Greek, as w'ell as Latin, and coc- 
cum comes from coch^ which in the Celtick tongue,, 
signifies red. It was thus anciently that they called 
the red grain, which grew on a kind of holly-oak 
(hous) and was used for the dying of scarlet. • It 
was from this word hous^ that scarlet was called 
hi/sginum, i, e, as much as to say, sprung and 
taken from the hous : if there be any that still doubt 
this, let them consult the celebrated Pausanias, wlio 
tells us, that the Gauls, who were settled in Upper. 
Phrygia, r. e» Galatia, called those shrubs, upon 
which those red grains grew, w, has or hous, and 
that they found certain small worms theieon, which 
served to dye scarlet this is w hat Tertullian calls-. 
Rubor Galaticus, the red of Galatia, and which 
Saturn, according to the account he gives us, so 
much valued. 


i*raus. 1.10. 



268 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. Ill* 


If these examples do not sufficiently shew, that 
the Latins had a great many things from the Celtas, 
we will produce still more. The Romans did not 
know from whence the words caulis and hrasslca 
were derived : the first came from caul^ which sig¬ 
nified a cabbage among the Celtae, and the other 
from bresych, that had the same import: the La¬ 
tins were also ignorant of the origin of the word 
pile^ which in one of its significations implies 
a post; and the same (Wdi pile ov piler import in 
the Celtick language: again, the Romans could 
never devise that aurum^ should be derived from the 
word aour of the Celtae, w hich signifies gold, and 
argentum from argent^ which with them is the 
word for silver. 

None among them could ever surmise whence 
their ancestors had the word signifying grey 

hairs, nor why they used cossi, to denote aid and 
withered men ; but the first of these comes from can^ 

- which signifies white among the Celtte. And as for 
fj! the other word, it is taken from cos or cos, the 
word for old among the same people. But it would 
be endless to enumerate all the nouns and verbs, 
which the ancient Latins took from the Celtaj or 
Gauls, since they amount to above eleven or twelve^ 


OF NATIONS. 


CHAP. in. 


26 ^ 


hundred: I do not exaggerate, as perhaps, I may 
prove in some future work. 


I cannot but once more mention the word petoru 
ium^ in Festus who has endeavoured to trace the 
origin of it, Aulus Gellius^ laughed at a certain 
learned person, who pretended it was a Greek 
word, and signified light wheels, (Volucres rotce) 
that moved nimbly ; and said it ought to be written 
peiorotum^ as he had read it in Valerius Probus. 
Gellius had indeed reason to laugh, for this word 
was neither Greek originally, nor signified light 
wheels : but as to the third point, that learned man 
said justly, that it ought to have been written pe- 
iorotum^ or rather petorrotum^ for the word was 
taken from the Gauls, and properly signified a cha¬ 
riot with four wheels : and hence it originally came 
from petor^ four^ and ro/, which is a wheel in 
Celtick. This is so plain, that 1 find birotum in 
our glossaries, signifies a chariot with two wheels; 
besides, Vslxto^ according to the confession of Au- 
! lus Gellius, owns that petoritum was a Gaulish 
word, verbum Gallicum: and he might have said the 
same thing of lanceOy which he says afterwards was 


3® Aul, Gellius, 1. 15. c, 30. 






^70 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. III. 


a lance or javelin, •which word properly came from 
lanztty which in Gaulish signified to dart or throw; 
whence we must conclude, that if this word came 
from the ancient S|7aniards, as Varro asserts, it 
must come from no other than those called Celtiberi, 
or the Celt®, that settled in Spain. It is evident 
from these tw'o examples, that by the knowledge of 
the Celtick or Gaulish tongii^ which was consi¬ 
dered as so barbarous, a man may judge accurately 
as well of the origin, as of the signification of a great 
many Latin words, about which the most learned 
Komaus were in doubt. 

And while w’e are upon this subject of the Ro- . 
mans, it may be observed that they were called 
■Curetes or Quirites, and hardly any otherwise in 
their own histories : and it is agreed that they never 
had this name till after their incorporation with the 
Sabines, and as these last came from the city of 
Cures, which was then their capital, it was resolv¬ 
ed by the articles made between them,* that both the 
nations should go by one and the same common 
name of Cuirltes or Quirites,^® which name was de¬ 
rived from the word Curis, that in the Sabine Ian- 


Feat. V. Curio, 


CHAP. Ill, 


OF NATIONS. 


271 


gnasjc signified a lance; and hence, Festiis says, 
Curis e$t Sabine hasta; and because Romulus wore 
t one, perhaps insfead of a scepter, according to the 
custom of kings of old,^^ they gave him the name 
1 of Qnirinus, as the same author informs us: unde 
I Romulus Quirinus^ quia earn ferebat^ diet us cst. 
There are many learned men of this opinion, that 
I curis among the Sabines signified a lance; but if 
you were to ask the Romans, w hy they called it 
so, there would be none of them able to answer 
you. 

Besides, this word is originally Celtick, from 
. whom the Sabines had it; for in the Celtick tongue 
I Curo, from which the Greeks have formed their 
is the same as pulso, to beat one thing against 
another. And cur is the same as pulsatio, which sig¬ 
nifies beating or knocking one thing against another; 
and it w^s from this car ofdhe Ccltae or Titans, that 
the curis of the Sabines came, because their Curctes 
or Salians w^ho carried a lance, were wout to strike 
their bucklers when they danced and jumped about. 
All the ancients assert this, and for more perfect sa¬ 
tisfaction, I refer, you to what I have already said 


3? £)!on3^s. 1. 2. Var.'Ovid. Fast. 1. 2. 







272 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. III. 


of the Curetcs, who took their name from it, and 
what Dionysius of Halicarnassus has said of it in 
the second book of his Antiquities. But let us now 
offer a few remarks upon the Salians, concerning 
whom, Varro and others after him, say they were 
so called, because they danced and jumped about 
with their lances and bucklers: Salii a saltando, 
says Varro,and Festus"** is positive they took 
th-eir name from thence, Salios a saltendo et salian~ 
do dictos^ dahitari non debet. There is no room 
therefore for disputation upon this subject; but they 
did not know that the Avord salio to leap, and from 
which the Salians had their name, was derived from 
sailla^ which signified the same thing in CeKick, 
and hence came the French word tressailler^ to 
startle. 

Before wc conclude with the origin and etymology 
of Latin words, derived from foreign languages, we 
must not omit observing one remarkable thing in 
this place. It has been demonstrated that the lan¬ 
guage of the Aborigines and ancient Latins came 
from the Greek, and especially from the Eolick di¬ 
alect, and yet none of the Greek names of the sc- 

^ Var, 1. 7. d. Ling. 4* FesU de verb, sig,' 


CHAP, HI. 


OF NATIONS. 


273 


Ten planets, nor of the days of the week obtained 
among the Romans, So that the Latin names of 
•them are altogether different from those used by the 
'Grecians, and how could this happen unless it were 
that the ancient Latins had them from the Titans 
and Celtaj ? 


The first day of the week is called Dies SoliSy 
and the Celt® call it Diesuly to denote the day of 
the sun : it is evident that dt with them was day, 
and that from thence came the dies of the Romans ; 
farther it is manifest that their Sol has also been 
taRen from the Ccltick sul or souly which is nearly 
the same name as the Sabines gave the sun : for it 
'is absurd to suppose with the Romans, that sol was 
derived from solus. By the way let me take notice 
here, that the Armorican Bretons have a certain pe¬ 
culiar game or exercise, which they call 50M/e; they 
throw a kind of a ball, made of black leather, stuffed 
with hay or straw into the air, and when it isfailinrg, 
they lift their hands to receive it, and use their ut« 
most efforts ’to catch it, and carry it to the goal, 
which is a great piece of emulation among the pea. 
sants: and 1 doubt not but this roued baU, called 
soiiUy was invented by tlie ancient Gauls, in ho- 
>nour of the sun, which they called sottly and that 


T 





174 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. HI. 


■for that reason they threw it into the air. At pre¬ 
sent it is nothing more than a simple bodily exercise, 
like those of running or wrestling. We have rea¬ 
son to believe the ancient Greeks, were not unac¬ 
quainted w’ith this game, and that their ^Ovpxvtx was 
much like it, as well as their : though they 
afterwards made some alteration in the last. But 
let us return to what is more immediately our sub¬ 
ject. 

Dies jMtn<e\s the second day of the week in La¬ 
tin, which was plainly taken from the di-lun of the 
Celtse, which is our Monday. We may say tlic 
same of the rest; the word lan^ which signifies the 
moon, and of which the Romans or Lati.is made 
lana^ seems to have been taketi from the Cel tick 
leun^ full : for they reverenced the planets, more 
particularly the moon, when at the full, and then 
it was that they regulated most of their affairs and 
enterprizes ; or else the word might come from/< 7 /i, 
in Latin effigies^ because the full moon seems to re¬ 
present a face. 

4 

Let US now come to the third day in Latin, Dies 
which was made from Di-uiettf's or J[}<« 
of the C.ltifi, and what we call Tuesday. U 


CHAP. Ill, 


OF NATIONS, 


2f75 


is very cerfain that these people in ancient times 
pronounced it Mers, somewhat like the Sabines, 
of which the Osci, who, as I have said elsewhere, 
were a kind of CeUae, made Mamers^i. e. my Mars: 
for he was the god of tl at nation, who delighted 
in war ; and the year was anciently begun by the 
Latins with the month of March. 

i 

As for Wednesday, in Latin, Dies Mercurii, the 
day of Mercury, it is very obviously taken from 
the Di Mercher of the Gauls: they venerated him 
as the god of commerce and trade, as I have already 
shewn in the explanation I have given of his name, 
whence Festus Pompeius says, Mercurius a mer*^ 
cibus esf dictus; hunc enim negotiorum omni^ 
um exisiimabant tsse deimJ^ I refer to what 
I have said above concerning this pretended 
deify. 

The fifth day, or Thursday, in Latin, Dies Jovisy 
they had from the Ccltick Di-JoUy which some of 
them have softened into Dir^JoUy by which they 
mean the day of Jupiter : for the true name of this 
imaginary deity was Jouy from which they mada 










276 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


' CHAP. III. 


Jovis,' as I have already demonstrated in speaking 
. of his reign, and great actions. Jovis therefore is 
not derived from Jehovah^ as our Hebraicians pre¬ 
tend. 

■^As to the sixth day of the week, and the Dies 
^Veneris oi the Romans, it cannot be denied that it 
came from the Di-Guener or Di-lVener^ as they 
sometimes pronounce it, of the Celtae, for they say 
Seren-lVener^ to signify the star of Venus. As 
for the Celtick word Guener^ it is derived from 
Gutriy white or fair, and hence Guenei\ from whence 
they made the Latin word Venus^ as appears by 
Veneris, its genitive case, properly signifies a white 
* or fair person, 

"Lastly, the seventh and last day of the week, 

^ called in Latin, Dies Saf-urni, came from the Celtick 
Di Sadorn, the day of Saturn. Who is there can 
5 deny, that the Safurnus of the Latins was taken 
from thcSador7i or Satorn of the Celt® ? The word 
signifies strong, valiant, and warlike: and it seems 
to have been derived from Dorn^ the ~Pugnus of 
the Romans: for, as from the verb Pugnare comes 
their Ptfgnus. Siy the Gaulish Dorn comes from 
^Dorna or Dournay to beat; and so upon 


Chap. hi. 


OP NATIONS* 


S77 


* the whole, signifies as much as to say, one strong in 

battle. It is in vain therefore that several learned 

men endeavour to find the origin *of this word in 

the Hebrew, it being certainly derived from the Cel«: 

tick, as well as all the rest. 

% 

Having in this manner produced so many in*, 
stances, wherein there is nothing strained or forced, 
but every thing natural and clear, will any one de¬ 
ny that the Latin has borrowed many things from , 
the Gaulish or Celtick language ? It is impossible 
they should ; and, besides, it would be an easy, 
matter to produce more examples, and in such num- . 
bers, that it would be hard for all the wit of man ■ 
to withstand them. But I have reason to believe- 
that what has been already offered is sufficient; 
though if it be not compleatly so, let them peruse 
the catalogue of Celtick and Latin words subjoined : 
to this volume, and I trust that when they have done 
so, all manner of doubt or scruple will be entirely 
removed. 


27S 


THX ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP, IV, 


CHAP. IV. 


Of the true Origin of the Teuiones or Germans, 

we should here repeat what the ancient Greeks 
have written concerning those famous people that 
lived in the countries beyond the Rhine, and about 
the Danube, now called Germany, we should have 
but a very dark and confused idea of them : I 
say confused,and use the word pointedly,because one 
would think that they took delight in confounding 
two nations, which in their origin, are, and always 
have been, very distinct, though otherwise similar to 
each other in their customs and manners. It is 
perhaps from hence, or rather out of pure igno¬ 
rance, that the ancient Grecians continually con¬ 
found together the Celtae and the Teutones, for 
that is the true name of those people, whom the 
French call Allemands, and the Romans Ger- 
maui. 


CMAl». IT. 


OF NATIONS. 


279 


These Greeks, who have been so much celebrat¬ 
ed, on account of their ability, in speaking and 
writing, liave not however been able to see into the 
antiquity and origin of nations, especially of those 
lying to the northward ; and as the Germans came 
within that number, they gave them in ancient 
Greece no other name than Scythians, or Hyper¬ 
boreans, and in process of time that of Celtae or 
Celto-Scythae. And at last when they came to be 
a little acquainted with them, they called them no 
otherwise than Celfas, Kix%/; and by this name 
they were known to the Greeks, till the time of the 
Cassars, and of the Roman empire. It is plain 
therefore that the Grecians have confounded the 
Gauls or Celtee, with the Teutones who lived be¬ 
yond the Rhine; for so they called themselves, 
while the Romans gave thern the name of Germans 
as before mentioned, 

In affirming all this I follow the opinion of Strabo, 
who confirms the assertion that the Romans were the 
first that called these people Germans, who were 
neighbours to the Celtse,and lived beyond the Rhine.* 
These are the words of that celebrated geogra- 


^ Strabo, c. 1, 


280 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP, IV. 


'pher, Sfaiim trans Rhenumy post Celticos populoSy 
Mila rtsxs^r^xS^y Onentem versus sitadocu Germans 
incolant: rtfixavot I yf/Aoviai. Here we see this learn¬ 
ed and accurate author distinguishing nicely between- 
the Celt® that were in Gaul, and^the Germans to-- 
wards the east, beyond the llhine. These he calls 
|.ii Pff/xavaf, Germans, and says the Romans gave them 
that name, which in their language signifies brethren,.. 
as if the Germans were the brethren of the Gauls,, 
because of the similarity-which there was between 
them in many things : Sed etformUy says the same 
Strabo, et rnoribus et viciu Ccltis seu Gullis sunt 
similes. Then he adds ; Rede itaque mihi videniury 
VviJ,oitciy Romani hoc nomen eis intpossuissey cum 
eos fralres Gallorum vellent ostendere, Romani* 
etiam sua lingua geminos fraircs vacant Germa* 
nos. 

Hence it was that the Teutones had the name of 
Germans, which is a foreign word, and never adopt¬ 
ed by them, they always reserving that of Theutons- 
or Teutons, their favourite name, and whicli in their 
own language they pronounce Diiystchen and Deut- 
schen, or Tcutschen, according to their diti'erent 
dialects, and which might be rendered Tuytscones,.. 
our Teutisci, This name, which indeed is very sin*^ 


CHAP. IV. 


OP NATIONSi* 


281 


gular, seems to have come from Merctiry, whom 
the ancients called Theuth or Tenth this pre¬ 

tended deity was held in great veneration among 
the Germans, as well as the Celtae, whence Tacitus 
says, speaking of the Germans, Deorum maxima 
Mercurium colunt.^ If they worshipped him more 
particularly than other deities, this proceeded as 
well from a point of thankful acknowledgement, as 
from a spirit of religion ; for it is likely it was this 
son and successor of the great Jupiter, (who reigned 
in Italy, and the west, as I have already observed), 
who sent colonies into Germany, or instituted laws 
amongst them for the better government of the 
people, and meliorating in some measure their fierce 
and barbarous natures: and hence what Cluverius 
says of him, whom he makes to be Adam, or the 
first man, is preposterous, especially. i!i so learned 
a writer as he was. Let us now trace the true ori¬ 
gin of this ancient and famous people; for what I 
have hitherto said extends no farther than to the 
different names which they had, or which were' 
given them. 

Tacitus^ in speaking of these people, whom he ^ 


> Tat. de Mor. German,' 


2S2 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP* IT. 


calls Germans, and whose customs and manners 
he has so well described, evidently intimates that he 
believed they were indigenes^ that is, born in the 
country from all antiquity, without any transmi¬ 
grations at all, or a mixture with foreigners. Ipsos 
Gennanos indigenes crediderim^ minimeque alia- 
rum gentium adeenlihus^ hospitiis mixtos.^ Ta¬ 
citus, though otherwise a very exact and judicious 
aiithor,in writing thus, is strangely mistaken; for this 
is absolutely to make the Germans to spring up out 
of the earth like gourds. He says much in a few 
words, but it is.certain there is nothing of truth in 
w liat he says : and afterwards he adds, that it vvas 
scarcely credible, that they should abandon Asia, 
Africa, or Italy, to go and settle in Germany, which 
he says is a rugged, frightful and inhospitable coun¬ 
try r it might be such in the time of Tacitus, but 
it has since very much altered. At last, he con- j 

eludes that it is in no manner singular that Gcrma- i 
ny should be the country and native place, or rather | 
the cradle of those that dwelt there, from the early 
ages of the world : but in this also he is mistaken, I 
All the west, properly speaking, had no such people 
as indigenes^ I mean, burn originally there, without 


« Tat. de Mor, German. 



CHAP. IT. 


OF NATIONS. 


283 


being brought from some other place. This prero¬ 
gative belongs only to the east, so that it may be 
said that Asia was the cradle of the human race, 
and their original countryV^ And it was from thence 
those swarms came, which filled Germany, and the 
other western and northern countries. The He¬ 
brews also, or at least the modern Jews believe, 
that the Germans owe their origin to him, who in 
scripture is called Askenez, who was the so^?» of 
Gomer, and consequently the grandson of Japhef.*^ 
And hence itJs that when they speak of the Teu-‘ 
tons oi^'ermans, they call them Askenazim in their 
language, as supposing them to be the posterity of 
Askenez. This indeed may be true, but not in the 
sense in which they take it: for they suppose that 
this grandson of Japhet came out of Asia into the 
west, fixed his residence in Germany, and peopled 
the country with his posterity : but iu this they are 
mistaken, for allowing him to be the fatiier of the 
Germans, it was not because he came into these 
northern parts of Etirope, but because he was the 
true stem of the Phrygians of Asia Minor,, from 
whom the Teutons had their origin. 




i 



4 Gen. X. 3i 


284" the antiquities chap, iv;. 

The better to understand this, I must refer to 
■what 1 have said before concerning Gonrier, the el¬ 
dest son of Japhet: P have produced good autho- 
rit)^ that he settled in the early times of the postdi¬ 
luvian world in the Upper Asia towards Bactriana 
and the countries adjoining; to the Caspian sea; 
and that from him in process of time came the Celtas" 
or Gauls. Moses in the 10th Genesis says, That 
this Gomer whom Josephus makes to be the father 
or origin of the Gauls, had three sons, the eldest of 
whom was called Askenez, of whom U am uovf 
Speaking: and this person, according to the autho¬ 
rity of the scriptures, and ancient records, may be 
regarded as the father and founder of the Phrygiasis. 
The most' learned commentators agree, that when 
God speaks by the mouth of the prophet Jeremiah,*^ 
by Askenez is meant Phrygia and the Phrygians : 
but perhaps it is not known that by Meani,the Lesser 
Armenia is understood, which makes part of Cappa¬ 
docia, and by that of Ararat, the Greater Armenia ^ 
as I shall shew in some other place. If by Aske¬ 
nez, in Jeremiah, Phrygia is intended, of which 
there is scarcely any room to doubt, Askeiiazim sig**- 

s Gen. 10. 3. Joseph, Antiquit, 1. 1, c, 6, 

* Jer. V. ,27. 







CHAP. IV, 


OF NATIONS. 


^85 


Hifies properly the Phrygians, and not the Germans, 
as the Jews affirm. 

However, what they say is in one sense true, for 
>I take it for.grantcd that the Teutoncs, at least in 
part, had their origin from the Phrygians, and tliat 
they were colonies of those ancient people. There 
-are several reasons wliich induce us to believe this, 
' but none so strong as the conformity which there was 
anciently between the languages of both nations. 
■And here we will produce «ome examples, with 
which ancient authors supply us. That taken from 
the word Btxx©-, or radier dec, is become very ce¬ 
lebrated from what Herodotus sa^s in the second 
book of his history : it is certain, according to this 
-author, that hcc in the Phrygian tongue signified 
"bread, and it does also*the same in the German 
language; for though the G‘rmans do not make 
! use of this word singly to denote bread, they do 
however in compound words, and therefore they 
<commonly say backer and dec/jcr,’According to the 
• variety of dialects among them, for a baker or 
bread-maker. Beck- r is a word compotnulcd of 
' dec, bread in the Phrygian tongue, and er, a man, 
which is much the same as the ur of the Celtaj: so 
that becker with them'signifies Mord for word, a, 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. ir. 




man of bread, that is, one that makes bread, and 
hence they say backen for baking of bread* 


The next example we shall take out of Plato,? 
who in his Cratylus asserts, that nJf, which should 
fee pronounced pur^ signified Jire among the Phry¬ 
gians, from whom the Grecians took this word, as 
well as several others, aliaque permulta ; and then 
he adds concerning it, Constat ifa hoc Phr^gos no- 
minare^ parum quid declinantes. Now the Ger¬ 
mans at this day say fur or feur for fire, which 
they too took from the Phrygians by a little variety; 
in the pronounciation, parum quid declinantes. 
Again, the Phrygians said soccus op-soc to denote^ 
a sandal or sock, and at this day they use in Ger- 

I 

many sockc for the same sort of thing. We see 
that Plato ingeniously confesses, that the Grecians 
took the word Uv^ from the Phrygians, with many 
others, aliaque pennidta ; and from hence we have 
reason to believe, that the words naril^and 
father and mother come also from the Phrygian, 
for wc find them to be almost the same in the Teu- • 
tonick and Persian, which is a powerful argument 
that they do not come originally from the Greeks, 

J Plato in Cratylo, » 


I 


CHAP. IT. 


OF NATIONS.' 


287 


any more than others, amongst which we may reck¬ 
on Qvyxhn^, fdia^ which was taken from the Phry¬ 
gians, and hence the Germans say tochter or dock* 
arnl the English, daughter. 

i 

I 

Many other examples might be produced, but 
the following cannot be omitted : the word in 
Aristophanes is taken from the barbarians, accord¬ 
ing to the confession of his scholiast, who could not 
tell the right siguitication of it, for it docs not mean 
audere^ as he fancies, but rixari and litigure^ and 
even now among the Danes, who arc a German 
people, ireile is the same as lUigare, 
which signifies if?fra or inferius^ came in like man¬ 
ner from the barbarians, I mean, the Phrygians; 
for the Germans say to this day en ereih, for in 
teri'U, which is the same as irijcrius: I shall add 
the word w hich signifies f/ued comadi potest^ 

every thing that is edible: thc Germans call bread 
broot or brot^ which they took from thc^Phrygians, 
as well as (hcGieeks, who had also comestor^ 

from thence. But supposing we could not have been 
able to produce any of these examples, the word 
nVfya/A©-, is alone sufficient to induce ns to believe 
that the Phrygian tongue is similar to the-German, 
Every body knows, that the Trojans were Phrygi- 


I 


•288 THE ANTIQUITIES CHAP. IV, 

ans by descent, and that Pergamns was the true 
»ame of the citadel of Troy; and if any question it, 
they need only read'Virgil, who after Homer, often 
calls it Pergama; hoc est arcem Ilii, says' Servius 
in his Commentaries, and the same is confirmed by 
Hysychus in these words, axpoVoX/r iXrtf, 

P:!rgamus arx sutnma Ilii. But why must this 
fortress be called'Pergamus, unless it were from the^ 
situation of it. It is therefore very probable that if 
we cut off the Greek termination of the word, the 
Phrygians said ptrgham, a mountainous dwelling 
or habitation. The modern Germans at this day 
use berg, which is the same as perg^ for a mountain, 
and ham for an habitation or dwelling. Tn short, 
before Troy was-built, this citadel or fortress was 
the first dwelling-place there: and here, by the 
way, let us add one remark ; it was from a citadel, 
situated like this upon a mountain, that the famous 
city of Pergamus took its name. We know that 
the kings of the Artalan race resided there, and that 
it was a famous place in those days. Urbs itlustris, 
says Strabo, sub Attalicis regihus. But this name, 
properly speaking, was common among- no other 
than the Biirygians and Germans, as appears by king 
Attains, prince of the Tentonick Marcomans, of 
■whom-Aurelius Victor spcaJes in the life ol Gallic- 


CHAP. IV. 


OF NATIONS. 




nus. Attains imports the same as Darius did 
among the Persians, viz. Coercitor; for Attal in 
the ancient language of the barbarians, signified 
coercere. All these examples shew plainly that 
the Teutonick language very much resembled the 
Phrygian, and that this resemblance happened be¬ 
cause the Germans were a colony of the Phrygians. 

But though all I have said upon this occasion car¬ 
ries an appearance of truth with it, yet it must not be 
imagined that Germany was peopled only by Phry¬ 
gians : it received also some colonies, which seem to 
have come from the Higher Asia, and the countries 
near the Caspian sea ; and this is no more singular 
than to find that the people, who overspread Gaul, 
came from the countries of Hircania and Bactriana. 
I am therefore of opinion that those who were an¬ 
ciently called Dues or Dahes, and by the Greeks 
Auot or and the Romans Dai^ or rather Dace 

or Dahce sent also colonies into Germany. These 
Daas are famous enough in ancient historians and 
geographers, and we have some reason to believe 
that their first settlements might be towards Ilirca- 
nia and Margiana ; and hence we find that Ptolemy, 
who has given us the best and most accurate account 
of Asia, places them with the Parni and IMassngcta? 


u 




2&0 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. IT. 


in Margiana f for after he had spoken of the Der- 
bices, that lived near the Oxus, a little to the north, 
he says, below these are Massagrtae,that is, towards 
the south ; near unto them are the Parni, and then 
the Daae Aaa/: and near unto them are the dcsarts 
of Margiana. It is manifest from what Ptolemy 
says, that the Daae were neighbours of the ancient 
Comarians, the descendants of Gomer, from whom 
came the Celtas, or Gauls: and the reason why 
these people must have been neighbours, I shall here 
subjoin. 

I have said before that Gomer, who was JaphePs 
eldest son, had three sons; the eldest,of whom was 
railed Askenez, who, we may well suppose, in the 
forepart of his life dwelt with his father in the 
Higher Asia, and did not go to settle in Phrygia till 
after his decease, the confusion of languages, and 
' the dispersion of the people. As this first settle¬ 
ment therefore must have been towards Hircauia 
and Margiana, it is likely that several of his sons 
and descendants, must have continued in these pro^ 
vinccs of the Higher Asia, were neighbours to the 
Gomarians, and perhaps intermixed with them : 
now I have many reasons for believing that the 


•?tol. 1. C.c. 10. 


CHAP. IV. 


OF NATIONS. 


291 


Daas were the descendants or posterity of Aske^ 
nez ; and as he was the son of Gomer, the father 
of the CeltiB, it is not strange that the Teutons, the 
posterity of Askenez, should resemble so much the 
Celtae; so that we may say, the likeness and confor¬ 
mity between these two nations, proceeded from tha.^ 
first origin of them. Hence it was, undoubtedly, 
that they were always called brothers^ and that the 
Romans gave the Teutons the name of Germans, 
Besides, as Askenez was the father of the Daae ia 
Higher Asia, before he became the founder of the 
Phrygians, in Asia Minor, it is easy to imagine, that 
these two nations had the same language, or at least 
were alike in many respects. It was necessary we 
should say thus much about the origin of the Daas, 
before we came to their descendants. 

I have already proved from the authority of Pto¬ 
lemy, that the Darn anciently lived towards the 
south of Margiana, near the sands or desarts of that 
province ; so that they were near neighbours to the 
Medes, and yet nearer to the Parthians, from whom 
they were separated by nothing but these sandy de. 
sarts, and a ridge of high mountains ; and here it 
is proper to observe,, that the word da signifies 
good in the Celtick, and it is easy to imagine that 

w 2 


292 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP, ir« 


dai and dace were derived from it, and that this name 
was given to them in the early ages of the world 
by the Celta; or Gomarians, who were their brethren 
and neighbours. In process of time many nations 
.came from these Date, and among others the Parni 
and Aparni; the Gelae, otherwise called Massage- 
,tae, the Syebi or Suebi, and the Sassons or Saxons. 
I do not reckon the Taparoans, Anarians, Asiotes, 
and Alani, who perhaps came also from this nation 
of the Daae, or at least were nearly allied to it. 

But as the people that fixed in Europe are, pro¬ 
perly speaking, colonies of the Asiatics, may we not 
believe that the ZyjjCo/, Suebi of Ptolemy were the 
fathers of the Suevians, or theSuevi of the Romans, 
a celebrated people in High Germany. Again, it is 
a thing that can scarcely be contested, that from the 
Xao-ovEj of Ptolemy, came the Sassons or Saxons, 
another famous people of Lower Germany. The 
same thing may be said of the Getm, rsra'/, who 
were surnamed Massagetm, that is, Nomadan, or 
victorious Getee. I am of opinion that the Gre- 
- cians, who afterwards settled in Thrace, and the 
neighbouring countries, w'cre descended from them. 
7. he word GctcCp according to some authors,^ signi- 

9 Ptor. 1, 6. c. 14. 


CHAP. IV. 


or NATIONS. 


293f'' 


fics a Giant, or else it is the same as that oi gohov 
gothy which is good in the German tongue. And 
hence there are many ancient authors who are wilfw 
ing to believe that the Goths were the same as the 
Getse, or had their origin from them; and indeed 
all things considered, this seems to be really so, for 
which many reasons might be given: but this is 
not the place to produce them. 

If all the nations of the north part of Asia have 
sent swarms of people, or rather numerous colonies 
into Germany, are we not to believe the same of 
the Dase, from whom the Germans were descended X 
It is certain from the testimony of historians, that 
these Daae did not all dwell in Higher Asia, any 
more than the Comarians, who had the name of 
Sacas. We find clearly that many of them passed 
into Europe by the way of the northern countries, 
and that they settled beyond the Isther or Danube, 
towards those vast regions, now called Transylva¬ 
nia, Wallachia, and Moldavia, from whence they 
advanced into Germany ; but after their coming to 
settle in Europe, fhey changed their name with 
their habitation, and whereas before they were cal. 
led Axot or Daae, they took the name of Daci, Aaxo/, 
being the same whom wc, after the Romans, call ^ 



294 


TUS ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP, IV, 


Dacians: but if we believe Stephen of Byzantium, 
the Grecians gave them the name of DajB, which 
was their ancient and right appellation ; A«x5j xat- 
Aubs; Daci^ quos appellamus Duos: but find¬ 
ing that word difficult of pronunciation, they al¬ 
tered it in their comedies, into that of AuZot Dam, 

1 wish the reader to recollect, that wffien Strabo 
speaks of the Get® who settled in Europe, he 
gives us sufficiently to understand that they are the 
same as the Daci, only with this difference,*® that 
those who dwelt towards Thrace, and the Euxine 
sea, were called Getae, rt1a<, the name which the 
Greeks gave to them; while the others that lived 
towards Germany, and the source of the Danube 
were called Dacae, Adnoi ; and this name the Ro¬ 
mans retained. lie also acknowledges, that these 
two people spoke the same language : Geice, says he, 
'OfxoyXuiloi rats AaVo/y, eudetn ciitn Dais utuntiir Lin^ 
gua: both are true, but he is mistaken when he 
says, that Aavo, or Davi^ a name which the Athe¬ 
nians gave theip slaves, came from the European 
Dacians, and not from the Daes of Hircania, and 
the Caspian §ea : for we do not find that the Gre- 


l® Strabo, 1. %. 


«HAP. lY. 


OF NATIONS. 


295 


dans had any slaves called Davi, till after Alexan¬ 
der the Great conquered Persia, and subdued the 
people of Upper Asia ; but there we find a people 
called Daae or Dahes, and reckoned amongst those 
that submitted to him. From thence it was that the 
Greeks procured those slaves, which they called 
Davi; and hence it comes to pass, as Salmatius ” 
has justly observed, that this word is not to be met 
with any where, but in the latter comedies which 
were written after the conquests of Alexander the 

r 



It is therefore very evident, that the vast country 
called at this day Germany, was peopled not only 
by the Phrygians of Asia Minor, but also by the 
Daae, or Daci, from the Upper Asia, and the 
countries adjoining to the Caspian sea, and Bactri- 
ana. But Germany besides these colonies, which 
were very considerable, had also some Thracian 
ones, as it might be easily demonstrated by the con¬ 
formity which there was between the customs and 
manners of these warlike people, and the Teutones 
or Germans, and especially by that of their lan¬ 
guage which seemed to be like one another in many 


Salraat. de lin, Hcb, p. 2. c. 2- 


296 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. IV 


respects; to say nothing that we find from ancient 
history, that the Thracians had almost always mixed 
with the Phrygians, from whom came the Teutone& 


as already mentioned 



But, notwithstanding all that has been said, it is 
most certain, there was no nation that sent larger 
or more frequent colonies into Germany, tiiaii the 
Ccitas or Gauls, their neighbours.. Ccesar seems to 
have been of this opinion in what he says in his 
Commentaries,*^ viz. that there was a time when 
the Gauls excelled the Germans in strencth and 
courage, and made continual war upon them, inso* 
much that they then sent colonies beyond the 
Rhine, Ac truns Rhenum colonias mittebant^ either 
because of their populousncss, or that they had not 
land enough wherewith to subsist so many people. 
The time thatCsesar speaks of, was about the time 
of the first kings of Rome : for we find by Livy ,*3 
that about six hundred years before our Saviour 
came into the world, when Tarquin the elder, w as 
king, Ambigatus, prince of the Bituriges, or tho 
people of Berri, who then ruled over the Celtae, 
finding Gaul to superabouud with people, sent his ' 


’2 C-Eesar, I. 6.tl. bel. Gal. 
Liv. I. 5, c, 34. 


(tiiXP, ly. 


or NATIONS. 


297 


sister’s son, Sigovesus into Germany with a nume¬ 
rous colony, to find out new settlements there. And 
at the same time, Belovesus, his other nephew, 
went' with numerous forces into Italy. 

As to Sigovesus, after he had consulted the au¬ 
gurs, he resolved to pass the Rhine, and venturing 
into those new territories, lie stopt there, and fixed 
his residence in the Hercinian forest, which in those 
days was vastly large. Among the people led Ijy 
this young prince thither the Senoncs, called we 
find by some ancient authors, Sernnones ; and it is 
very likely, they were the people that in jirocess 
of time intermixed w ith the Suevi; by w hich junc¬ 
tion the latter became the most potent peojile of 
all Germany; and hence when Tacitus mentions 
these Senones or Sernnones, he says, vetustissimos 
jc, noMlissimosque Suevorum^ Semno7ies inemo» 
Rut besides these people led into Germany, 
by Sigovesus, there were others call Roii, who, 
quitting the territories about Rourdeaux, went also 
into Germany, and possessed themselves of the 
country, which from their name, is called Bohemia, 
in Latin signifying the dwelling or ha- 

Tacit, de, Mov. Germ, c. 59, 


V 


298 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. IT. 


bitation of the They were afterwards driven 

from thence by the Marcomans, upon which they 
moved towards the Danube, and having afterwards 
crossed that river, they at length fixed in that coun¬ 
try, which from them was named Boiovaria, or the 
country of the Boii, and which is the same that we 
now call Bavaria, 

To these people we may also add the Helvetians, 
who were true Gauls, and are the Swiss of our 
time. These also passed the Rhine, near which 
they dwelt, entered Germany, and fixed them¬ 
selves there: and it is generally believed that they 
ufterw^ards incorporated with the Quadi. Caesar in 
his Commentaries, speaks also of the Volcae et 
Tectosagi, who were those that dwelt about Tho- 
louse.^® These people having in like manner passed 
into Germany, settled in a part of the Hercinian 
forest, towards the Neckar. It may easily be sup¬ 
posed, that there were several other Ccltick colo¬ 
nies planted in that country, an account of which 
has not been transmitted down to our time: but it 
was long before all this, that the Cimbri, a true 
Celtick people, who came either from the Cimme- 

IS CaBsar Tacit. &c. 

C*sar Com. 1.6. 


CHAP. IT. 


OF NATIONS. 


299^ 


rian Bosphorus, or perhaps from Upper Asia, pos¬ 
sessed themselves of a great part of Lower Germany; 
and after several removes and agitations, they at 
last fixed, at least a part of them, in the Peninsula, 
now called Jutland, which from them had the name 
of the Cimbriek Chersonesus. Now, from all these 
colonies united, it is evident that Germany was 
anciently over-run with the Celtae or Gauls; and 
this undoubtedly was the reason, why the Gre¬ 
cians, at least until the time of the Roman Ciesars, 
always confounded the Teutones or Germans with 
the Celt®, though they were different nations in 
their origin. 




300 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. V, 


CHAP. V. 


Thai the Teutonick Language has borroiced much 
from the Celtick, 

If wc do but attentively observe the antiquity, 
extension,and other peculiar qualities of the Teuto- 
nick or German language, we may easily believe 
that it is an original one ; but we shall be fully con¬ 
vinced of this, if we do but search into its rise, and 
ascend to the first origin of it. It is evident from 
the little that has been said concerning Askenez^that 
his being the father both of the Daae and Phrygians, 
from whom the Teutons were descended, this na¬ 
tion, as w'cll as the language that is peculiar to it, 
must be very ancient; and if at the same time we 
resume the idea, that this Askenez was the son of 
Gomer, and the grandson of JaplieU wc may be 
easily brought to believe, that its antiquity ascends 
as far as the confusion of languages, and the dis¬ 
persion of mankind over all the earth. 


CHAP. V. 


OF NATIONS. 


SOI 


As, therefore, the language which Gomer who 
was the father of the Celtac left to his posterity was 
an original language, made in the time of the con¬ 
fusion at Babel, some ages after the deluge ; we 
must think and assert the same thing concerning 
that of Askenez, who was the father of the Ger¬ 
mans. And this doubtless was the reason, why 
Moses took so much care to mention these two men 
in the tenth of Genesis,' they being the fathers and 
founders of two of the most famous and potent na¬ 
tions that came from Japhet, Noah’s eldest son. 
Now’, in viewing the origin of these two powerful 
nations, the conformity between their languages may 
easily be discovered : for the Celtce descending from 
Gomer, and the Germans from Askenez, his eldest 
son, it is no difhcult thing to imagine, that the lan¬ 
guage of these two nations, who had in a manner 
the same origin, must be in some sort like each 
other. But it may be remarked as singular, that 
the more remote w’e are from this first origin, the 
more we discover the reasons which prove, that there 
was great affinity between the language of these two 
people; and here it must beremembered what has al¬ 
ready been said, that the priuces, who ruled over 


’ Gen. X, 2, 3, 



302 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. T. 


the Titans^ fixed themselves in Phrygia, about the 
time of Abraham, where they continued above two 
hundred years, by which means the Titans, the fa¬ 
thers of the Celtse, were a long time mixed and 
confounded with the Phrygians, from whom the 
Teutones were descended. Things being thus, is it 

I 

' possible, that the language of the Titans did not 
mix with the Phrygians? and this mixture must be 
sensibly found in the languages of the two nations, 
which in process of time descended from them, and 
of which the following example from Plato, must 
be decisive, I have indeed cited it before; but I 
cannot omit doing it once more, it being so point¬ 
edly to the present purpose. That philosopher 
says in his Cratylus, wherein he enquires info the 
origin of various Greek words, that the Grecians 
borrowed many things from the Barbarians, and 
more especially from the Phrygians : he assures us, 
tlvat it was from them they borrowed the word 
which in Greek, signified fire; and that the words 
aqua^ and Kvwxr canes^ came also from the same 
people: but, with regard to the last two words, 
Plato is mistaken, for they are Ccitick, as 1 have 
already shewed. He was right, however, in saying 
they had it from the Phrygians, and thence it 
is, that it is found still in the German language, 


CHAP. T. 


OP NATIONS. 


303 


which came from the Phrygian, This example 
shews plainly enough, that the language of the 
Titans was anciently intermixed with the Phrygian, 
and that this mixture may still be discerned by the 
help of the Celtick and Teutonick. 

The princes who ruled over the Titans, not only 
resided a long time in the country of Phrygia, but 
having, by their conduct and valour, made them¬ 
selves masters of all Europe, they were obliged to 
undertake several warlike expeditions, for the 
better forming of their new conquests, wherein 
they could make use of any people to better pur¬ 
pose, than the Phrygians,’ who were their subjects, 
and had then, as it were, incorporated with the 
Titans, or Celt®. These enterprizes, together 
with the many settlements made by these Titan 
princes in those days, in Greece, Italy, and even 
in Spain, Gaul, and Germany, could not be 
brought about, without the Phrygians having some 
share in them. And is there not room to believe, 
that it was chiefly in those times, that this people 
began to settle their colonics in those vast countries, 
lying between the Rhine, the Danube, the ocean 
and Baltick Sea ? all this could not be done, with¬ 
out making use of them, and of the Titans: so that 






304 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. V. 


these things infer strongly, that the Phrygians had 
thus always been intermixed with the Ccltae : and 
could this continual intermixture take place without 
their language being also mingled. 

But as the great antiquity of these researches, ne¬ 
cessarily produces a very clear knowledge of them, 
let us cast our eyes upon the numerous and frequent 
colonies, which the Gauls at several times sent into 
various parts of Germany, which will easily induce 
ns to believe, that the Celtae left a great deal of 
their language in that country: I have shewed al¬ 
ready, that the Bituriges, Senones, or Semnones, 
about six hundred years before our Saviour’s time, 
passed the Rhine, and went to settle in those vast 
provinces; that after them the Boii seized upon 
that territory, which from them was named Bohe¬ 
mia, and that from thence they passed into the 
country of Bavaria; that the Helvetians quitting 
their lakes and mountains, v/ent to dwell in those 
parts, which were afterwards possessed by the Qua- 
di; and lastly, that the Void and Tectosagi, for¬ 
saking Gaul, went and settled in that part of the 

llercinian forest, adjoining to the Ncckar, 

\ 

By these numerous colonies, (to. say nothing of 


CHAP. V. 


OF NATIONS. 


305 


those of the Clmbri, which were more ancient), the 
Celtaj filled, and as it were overflowed, all Ger¬ 
many, and mingled and incorporated with the 
. reutones. It cannot be denied that this union, 
or ratlier incorporation of two nations, must ne¬ 
cessarily make a mixture, and incorporation of 
languages; and this is the true reason, why the 
Teutonick language was anciently full of Celtick, 
or Gaulish w ords, as indeed it is to this day. If 
i this be doubled upon my own testimony, the reader 
w ill find it clearly made out by the learned Cluve- 
rius, in the oth, 6th, 7th, and 8th chapters of the 
first book of his Ancient Germany, and if that be 

not enough, I refer him to the catalogue of Celtick 

* 

and Teutonick words, annexed to the end of this 
w ork, for better satisfaction. 







S06 


THE AMTIQU1T1KI 


CHAP. TI. 




CHAP. VI. 


That the Persian Language has horrouea much 
from the Teitionick, 

Some may perhaps imagine, that I am fond of 
fanciful theories, when I assert that the Persian 
tongue, even such as it is at this day, has much 
of the Teutonick in it; and they may readily ask 
me, what union, commerce, or resemblance, can 
there be between the Persians that are in the east, 
and as it were in the midst of Asia, and the Ger¬ 
mans, who are in a remote part of Eurojie, towards 

< 

the west and north ? And if there be no alhnity or 
resemblance between these two nations, so remote 
from each other, and so different in their customs 
and manners, how can there be any likeness be¬ 
tween their languages ? It is idle, they will say, to 
write that the Persian has taken a great deal from 



CHAP. ▼!. 


OF NATIONS. 


307 


the Teutonick language ; and why not, on the con¬ 
trary, has not the Teutonick borrowed rather' of 
the Persian whatever words seem to be like one 
another in their languages ? These are plausible ob¬ 
jections with the multitude, and I confess I was 
myself struck with them, before I had strictly 
examined matters : but 1 am now of another opi¬ 
nion. ' 

That which at first a little undeceived me, was 
the testimony of very learned men in the last two 
centuries, such as Justus, Lipsius, Scaliger, Ca- 
saubon, Salmasiiis, and many others, who all own 
that there are a great many Teutonick words in the 
Persian tongue, and such as could not have crept 
into it fortuitously, or by chance : for a proof of 
which, take the following examples. 

The Germans in their language say, lafer, the 
Persians, pader or badety for father. 

The Germans use mcsdery the Persians, madery 
for mother. 

Breeder is the German word, and brader the Per® 
siau, for brother. 

X 2 


I 




I 


308 THE ANTIQUITIES CHAP. VI. 

The Germans say Tochier^ and the Persians, 
dochier, for a daughter. 

These words which arc so very like in both lan¬ 
guages, could not happen by chance, because they 
were found anciently with very little variation in 
the Greek tongue, and especially the Eolick dialect. 
The Germans use the word band, which w ith us sig¬ 
nifies much the same, and the Persians, bend. What 
we call a barber, the Germans name barbier, and 
, the Persians, berber: kennep, in the German 
12 ^ tongue, signifies hemp, and the same is cannab in 
^ Persian ; the Germans say dondor, or tondor, for 
our thunder, and the Persian word is tounder, 

I shall not enumerate any more Persian words, 
which are almost like those that are found in the 
German language; and this similarity of vocables be¬ 
tween them, and several other things in which they 
agree, have amazed many learned men, who have not 
however, been able to discover the true cause of 
this likeness. The famous Walton ^ in his Pro- 

I 

logomena to his polyglot bible, when he speaks of 
the Persian tongue,ingenuously confesses,that it was 

. I Walton Prol. 16, de Lin. Pers. 


/ 


CHAP. VI. 


OF NATIONS. 


SOU 


a very hard matter to say any thing with' precision 
concerning the agreement there was between that and 
the Teutonick. De hac questiojie dijjicile est aliquid 
pro certo ajjirmare. He adds, however, that he is 
of the opinion of Buxhornius, who fancied, that it 
proceeded from tlic language of the Scythians, or 
Tarlars, who having made several incursions, as 
well into the east as west, left by that means a great 
deal of their language, both among the Persians and 
Germans; Boxhornii sententiam ampleciendani 
sentio^ donee aliquid prcbabilius adferalun 

But the celebrated Salraasius, who has left so 
many excellent pieces behind him, comes somewhat 
near the truth : for after he had demonstrated, not 
only the resemblance there is between the Persian 
and Teutonick languages, but also between them 
and the Greek, he appears to be surprised, as if he 
could give no reason for it; however he ventures, 
though by way of conjecture, to say, it came from 
no other than the Daa3, or Dai, a people of Scythia, 
who over-run the east and west.^ Now though 
this learned person has said this only conjceluraily, 

* Sal, de lin Heb. p. 2. c. 3 , 


r 



310 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. TI. 


as being a matter of great obscurity, yet it has been 
his good fortune to guess right; and it is certain 
that the likeness there is between these two ancieut 
languages proceeded originally from the Daae, of 
whom I have treated before. 

For the belter understanding this matter, we 
ought to remember what has been said already, to¬ 
wards the beginning of this work, concerning the 
origin of the Parthians. I have there shewed, that 
they were a part of the people called Comarians, or 
Gomarians, (because they were the descendants of 
Gomer), in the earlier days of the world ; and that 
having fallen out among themselves, they were by 
the prevailing faction driven out of Margiana, 
from whence they retired over the mountains, into 
the province, that from them was afterwards called 
Farthia, as being the habitation of the Parthians : 
for this was the name which the Gomarians gave 
those they expelled their country, and the Parthians, 
on their part called them Sacae, who did them this 
injustice and violence. The exiled Parthians must 
therefore he considered as no other than a colony 
of Gomarians, and as anciently the Celtick lan¬ 
guage was the same as that of this people^ from 


CHAP. Tl* 


Of NATIONS. 


ail 

whom they had their origin, it is no wonder that'the 
Parthian,^ and even the Persian tongues, which last 
came from the other, should be full of Celtick words^ 
even to thi^; day, notwithstanding the revolution of 
so many ages. 

Besides, as the Diae from very ancient times dwelt 
towards the southern parts of Margiana, it is impos¬ 
sible but many of them must have intermixed with 
theParthians, when they were driven by the Goma- 
rians into that province ; but even if this had not 
happened at that time,there were otherconjunctures, 
which necessarily brought it to pass. For we find 
from the testimony of Herodotus,* that there were 
Dai, A«o/, in Persia, many ages before our Saviour 
was born, and perhaps long before his own time: 
he observes also in the same place, that there were 
Germanians there, for so the word is, and 
ought to be rendered, those whom he calls thus, 
being in reality no other than the Carmanians, who 
bordered upon Persia; and these two, properly 
speaking, signify only warlike men : for the same 
word Carm^man among the Celtae, is the same as the 


• Herodot. Hist, ]. 1. 



312 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. YI. 


Gerre-man^ or German of the Daas, and Teutones. 
But the CarmanianSj as well as the Persians, were 
true colonies of the ancient Parthians, as might 
easily be demonstrated ; Tor besides the conformity 
there was in their manners and language, they were 
neighbours, and only separated by the mountains 
from each other. 

But here I would offer to the reader’s attention 
another remark. Those who have the least smat¬ 
tering in ancient history, know that the kingdom 
or empire of Persia, which for so long a time made 
war against the Romans, was founded by Arsaces 
in Upper Asia, about two hundred and fifty years 
before our Saviour’s time. Strabo, who says some¬ 
thing of it, and had perused the ancient authors, 
tells us, that this Arsaces, from whom all the Par¬ 
thian race of kings were called Arsacidcs, ruled 
over the Dai, surnamed Parni, who lived near 
the banks of the Occus,^ a river that runs close to 
the confines of Margiana and Bactriana; that it 
was by the help of these people, who were very 
ancient, that he made himself master of the neigh¬ 
bouring province, called Parthia ; and from thence 


♦ Strab, 1. II, 


CHAP, VI. 


OF NATIONS. 


SIS 


it'was, that his kingdom, which became afterwards 
much enlarged by the many victories and conquests 
he made, was called the Parthian empire. Now, 
if Arsaces founded this empire by the means of the 
Dai, whom he ruled over, it is evident that these 
people were mixed and confounded with the Par- 
thians, and after that with the Persians, who were 
subdued by them, and who, after the Parthians, for 
a long time possessed the same empire, till it was 
conquered by the Arabs, or Saracens. If the Dai 
were in this manner intermixed with the Persians, it 
cannot be doubted that their language, being that of 
the conquerors, incorporated also with the other, I 
have shewed before, that the language of these Dai 
of Margiana, was the same, or mostly the same, 
with that of the Teutones; and thereforeit may ea¬ 
sily be conceived, that the modern Persian tongue, 
which has retained a multitude of things of the an¬ 
cient Parthian language, as is acknowledged by 
those that have any acquaintance with it, should 
agree in many things with that of the Teutones, or 
Germans: for lastly, these partly had their origin, 
and consequently their language from the Dai, who 
in ancient times passing from Asia into Europe and 
Germany, hatl the name of Dacians. Thus it was 
that the modern Persian tongue, which is com. 


S14 


THI ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. TI 


pounded of that of the Arabs who conquered the 
country, and that of the ancient Parthians, is in 
many things like that of the Germans, notwith* 
standing the distance of the countries, and after 
the rerolutions of so many ages. 




CHAP. T1I« 


OP KATlONSt 


lid 


CHAP. VII. 


Of the follomns Table* 

As I have promised in several parts of this book^ 
to add a catalogue of the Greek, Latin, and Ger¬ 
man words, which have their origin from the Cel- 
tick tongue, I am bound to perform niy promise, , 
and 1 shall do it the more willingly, because no¬ 
thing will more conduce to shew, that these three 
famous nations, have in the early ages of the world, 
taken several things from that of the Gauls, then 
known by the name of Titans. The language of 
this famous people, I mean theCeltaa or Gauls, who 
formerly were so celebrated in the world, is not 
lost, as some may imagine, after the revolution of 
so many ages, but preserved to this day in Armo- 
rican Bretagne, a province of France, and in 
Wales, 


316 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. Vll, 


In short, the Bretons of France, and the Welch 
in Great Britam, have still the same language, 
•which in the time of Julius Caesar and Augustus 
•was spoken through all Gaul, though it varies in 
point of dialect, from what it thtui did. This is 
a matter which needs no proof ; the learned own it, 
and though they should change their sentiments, it 
would be easy to convince them that their present 
belief is right. The Celtick or Gaulish tongue, 
which we call the British, is therefore an original 
language, and one of the most ancient in the world, 
as may easily be judged by all that I have said con¬ 
cerning it, and more especially by the following 
catalogue, whence it will be found that the most 
ancient Greeks, as well as the Latins, Teutones, 
or Germans, took an infinity of words in order to 
enrich their own languages with them. 

But yet I do not pretend, that the languages of 
these people, so renowned in antiquity, had their 
origin from that of the Gauls, as some may be too 
apt to believe, and this I thought fit to notice that 
nothing may be laid to my charge of which 1 am 
not guilty : for who is there, that does not know, 
that the Greek tongue, to say nothing of the other 
two, is an original language, and even as ancient as 


CHAP. VII. 


OF NATIONS. 


317 


that of the Celtae ? they had a very different rise and 
origin; yet it must be owned, they intermixed in 
jirocess of time : and as the Titans, from whom 
came the Celtae, for some ages had dominion over 
the Greeks, these took many things from the other, 
not only in respect to the language, but some cus¬ 
toms also, and of this the reader must be already 
convinced by reading what I have said before con¬ 
cerning the Spartans, who were better known by 
the name of Lacedemonians: but the annexed table 
will clearly shew, that the ancient Grecians took a 
great many words from theCeltse, and consequently 
have enriched their language with those of other 
people, whom they have so often called Barba¬ 
rians. 








■ > . 




^,.<■1. ..i 






s 

•^’ ■. ^ V 


0 .!*»: ‘ 


■‘i U • *■■• 

■* •' ■ 
f t ^ 



■f^ ^ Wi3, ■-S’-V 

f:Siri%^5£ 

y' _ 


a,c 




OP ZTATIOKS* 


CHAP. 1. 




BOOK III. 


CHAP. I. 


^ Table of Greek Words, taken from the Celtick or 
Gaulish Language, 

A. 

A'HP, aery air, comes from ihcCeltick word aer* 

^Afxl^y 7irsm, a bear, from the Celtick arth ; the Arctick 
pole took its name from hence, because of the sign of the two 
bears near it. 

venlus procel/osus, tempestuous wind, comes from 
the Celtick atiel, or avel, wind ; and from thence comes *A»a, 
Jlatusy which signifies much the same. 

*Aw/Joy, auruniy gold, an ancient Greek word, taken from the 
Celtety wlio say a7ir; thence came ’Av^or, divesy opulentusy rich, 
wealthy, and ®raavpos, thesa?irus, a treasure. 

’Afou, aro, to plough, comes from the Celtick ar^ earth, from 
whence ’Af3;a, arvum, terra arabilts, arable land. 

*AXX<^, alius, another, from the Celtick all. 

* A vinculum, a band, or chain, from the CeWcA ^mar ^ 
whence they say amarer, on shipboard, to bind with a rope. 






320 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. I. 


’Arxovn, mors vioJenla, a violent death, by suffocation ; come# 
from the Cellkk'viovA a/icoun. 

’Ax^cf, ant'iqnitus "AXir^, albus, white, from the Celtick 
alf); and from thence came the Alps, which are mountains al¬ 
ways white, as being covered with snow. 

’Ayxvf*, anckora, an anchor, from the Celtick angor, or 
ancur. 

’A/xi5y«, opem fero, defendft, to help, to defend, is derived 



from the Celtick, amoyn, as signifying the same thing. 

Avufiu, hortoT, suadeo, to exhort, to persuade, from the Cel- 
iick annog. 

That we may not be long, and consequently tedious, I shall 
here pass over a great many others under the letter “Aypa ; for 
by the computation that I have made, there are at least fifty 
that might be produced. 


B 



BO PA', cibus, esca, any thing that may be eaten, comes from 
the Celtick, bara, bread. 

Bfvv, mamma, the breast, comes from the Celtick, iron, being 
a word which infants at this day use, who say mambron, that is 
rnamma,give me the breast j and thence came the word B^o/UrS- 
lacto, to give suck. 

hfoLvyict, branchits, the gills of fishes, from the Celtick, brenc. 
brackium, an arm, from the Celtick, brech, 

B§v%^,fr<snum, a bridle, from the Celtick, brid. 

BetyXKj/kos, tripudium, a ball, dance, from the Celtick ball, 
from whence came AaXXi^w, tripudio, to dance. 

B5f, bos, an ox, from the Celtick bu; and so came the BS of 
the Greeks, which signifies any thing that is big and terrible. 

Baxt), ponto, cimba trajectoria, a boat, comes from bac of 
the Celt<e. 

Biarn, capra, a goat, taken from the Celtick hicq, for they 
say in several other places in FrancCf un bique. 



CIL4P, I. 


OF NATIONS,^ 


32$ 


vas vhiarium^ u wine vessel, comes from brock 
of the Celta. ' 

bubahis, a buffler, from the Celtick, bual, which sig-- 
nilies the same as biuill, i. e. bos a/ius, another sort of ox. 

I have above sixty more Greek words under b, or that 

might be derived from the Cellkk tongue. 


c 


KY'flN, cartis, a dog, comes from ki of the Cr-ltee. it is oh- 
servalde that Kccjv in the genitive makes Kwor, because the 
same C^ltce said kun or houn for dogsj from x», comes x'yw to 
move; because a dog is continually ranging up and down. 

Kpxviov, cranium, a skull, from the Cellkk, cren, so called 
from its roundness. 



glacks, ice,, from the Cchkk, cron, ov grou. 
Ka^foy, currus, a chariot, from the Cellkk, carr. 

K-xt7®*, catus, felts, a cat, from the Cellkk w()rd cat or caz. 


“I KavvaCjr, cannabis, hemp, comes from canab of the Cellar.. 

I Kikk^, galliis, gullinactus, a cock, taken from the Cel'i.k 
word coq. 

Kwy©-, cuneus, a wedge, from cueti or ctjn. 

Korx-n, concha, a shell, from the Cdlick, cvfjve.. 

genus acdpilris, falco, a falcon, from the C hick,, 
cyrch, an impetuous wind amongst tlie Gants aiul thecim/Wi of 
the Rovians, beiaiise the bird falls with fury uj)on its prey. 

Kv«, in the future, K^-rw, oscnlor, to kiss, from tiie Cellkk 
.i cui, which signifies vseutvm, a kiss. 

capo, a capon, fiom the Cellkk, cupon. 

KtfyS-nXof candela, a candle, from the Cellkk, canlal. 

KoTou, KevQw. lego, ahscondo, to hide, come from the Cellkk ' 
cuta, and cuter, that s'gnifiesthe same thing. 

Xa^voy, nux, a nut, from the Cellkk craouon. 

Kvpof, ceroy wax, taken from {he Cellkk coir,. 

KAvfb^ca'ihs, cabbage, fro in the caai' 


Y 





THE ANTIQUITIES 


322 


CHAP. I. 


^ K/rn, cista, arcof a chest, from the Cellick, cist. 

KtpavAs, tonitru, fulinen, thunder, thunder-bolt, from the 
Cellick curaun, thunder. 

Kafvojf, huccina, a trumpet, comes from the Cdtick earn, or 
corn, a horn; because their trumpets, in ancient times, wer« 
made of horn. 

Ktfof, cestus, a girdle, from the Celtick cest, which signifies a 
belly. 

Kfouw, pulso, percutio, to strike one thing against another. 
This word, by transposing one letter, comes from the Celtick 
euro, and from that the Sabin word enris, a lance, which in their 
dances they used to strike upon their shields; and it was from 
this word cutis, that the Romans, after their incorporation with 
the Sabines, were called Curites, and afterwards Quirites. Nei¬ 
ther the Greeks nor Romans knew these things, and many si¬ 
milar ones, because they were ignorant that their language 
came from the Titans and Cellte. 

I could have produced a hundred and twenty more under 
Kanwa, but I thought these were enough to shew, that 1 have 
not advanced things lightly and without consideration. 

D 

APT'S, Sirercfvs, an oak, from the or Guu/iVr word dern, 
from which, compounded with knd, inchnntment, comes that of 
druhicidcp, which has been softened into druidte, druids. They 
were the priests, the sages, diviners and magicians of the an¬ 
cient Gauls, who gave them this name, because they practised 
their divinations and enchantments in woods, and especially 
under oaks, in short, from the Celtick word hud, iucanlatio, 
came the GrceA-"TStw, or'Tow, canto, and anciently 7nr«///o: 
and from these two Celtick wordscomes the A^vd^ts of the Greeks, 
which were the Dryades, of whom w^e have no room to speak in 
this place; they were almost the same as the faunce of the Ro¬ 
mans. 

an ancient Greek word, the same as collis, a 

hill, from the Cellick dun, which signifies the same thing; hence 
we still say the dozvnes, or dones, for the sand hills upon the sea¬ 
shore: arid this is the reason why so many Celikh cities end ic 


CM A I*, r. 


OF NATIONS.. 


323 ' 


Junum ; and Plutarch was right in saying, thn.tLugdu)iU7n,L^on$t 
signified the hill of ravens. 

Aiufvov, lachryma, a tear, from the Celtick daigr, 

AfiX^, timidus, fearful, from the Celtick deilcn^ A leaf, be¬ 
cause the fearful tremble like a leaf. 

AiulmfjMVy dklamnum., dittany, from the Celtick diilain, which 
i signifies the same thing.. 

Aix®-, dolusf fraud, from the Celtick dol. 

palmus, the palm of the hand, from the Celtick dour^ 
■which word dour also sicnifies water j, whence by transposition, 
came the Greek word aqua. . From the word dour the 

Romans have made durum, a word which ends the names of se¬ 
veral cities among, the ancient Celtre, because they > were situated* 
near to water. 

Avfit, niergo, to drown, from Celtick doun, d^ep. 

A/yt), aquarum vortex, a whirlpool, from the Celtick duin. 

Ais, in the genitive Aior, the ancient word for Jupiter, taken 
from the di of the Celttje, which signifies day, or light. But 
Jupiter was called Di by the Cretans, quasi Lucidus, or Luce- 
iius, the father of light, as the ancient ii'a/Zans termed him. Be¬ 
sides, from the di of the Gauls came the dies cf the Romans ; 
and here by the way we may observe, that, among the Greeks. 
Jupiter, w'hieh should be pronounced Juupiler, is commonly 
called Ztvs, but in the obliq-ue cases Aics, Ai*, Aia, as from 
the nominative Ah. Sometimes^ indeed they used a!so Hriy®.,- 
Sf,»i, S^ra, in the oblique cases, from called Sir by the 
Dorians: something like this we also meet with in the Latin 
word Jupiter, or Joupiter, which instead of Jvpitris, dfc. in the 
genitive makes Jovis, Jovi, Jovem; and this, because the an¬ 
cient formed Jovis from the Celtick Juii, Jupiter, stdl call¬ 

ed so among ihe-Gauls or Bretons. The learned will, perhaps, 
be pleased w’ilh my clearing up these things^ which have so 
often puzzled the Greeks and Romans. 


E 





’£NNOE, veins, antiquus, old, ancient, is taken from the 
Cvltkk henu, whicb signifies the same thing; and herekt me' 



Y 2 


324 


THIi ANTIQUITIES < 


CHAP* I 


observe, that <he lastdav of the month was among the^ ancient 
(ireeki called "Eva xal vtaj that is, Vetua and Nova', H/MYipec, 
dies, a day, being understood, or rather StXXvvn, lv?ia, the muon. 
Indeed thej*^ had reason to call the thirtieth day of the lunar 
month, the old and new moon, because on that day the moon, 
which made its revolution in nine and twenty days and twelve 
hours, finished and completed it, and so was found to be Eva 
x«J Nil*, both old and new j as’Evv®-ov "Ev<^ is taken from 
the Celtcs, so 710VUS, comes from neue5, which in their 

language signifies new. 

Evvv), cubile, a bed, a place to rest on, comes from the Celtick 
hun ; which is sleep. It is well known that from ’Ewvt), comes 
*Evy5;^©-, a eunuch ; because that in ancient times they had 
the care of the bedchambers, even of princes themselves. 

"EXajov, oleum, oil, from the Ccltick cli, though others say eol 
for oil. 

gramcn,frenum, bay, grass, from tbe Ccltick, her, 
scio, to know, from the Cellick hei. 


furnus, an oven, from tbe Ccltick forn, which sig¬ 
nifies the same thing; and from tbe Gaidish word foni, came tbe 
Latin foniax, a furnace, as from fornax came fornix, a vault; 
bfcause furnaces were in very ancient times made in vaults. 
Here it may be observed, that the letter F, whieh is so common 
in the Ccltick tongue, has not for above two thousand years been 
found among tbe Grecians, who use phi instead of it; however, 
the most ancient Greeks did use it, and called it the digarnma of 
the Eolians, as being common amongst them; and therefore it 
is no strange thing, that, instead of the F, I should here make 
use of the Greek phi, which was substituted in the room of it. 

Jiscus, money, from the Cellick fisc. 

pree(lo, fur, a thief or robber, who dexterously does his 
business, from fur of the Celtce, which in their language signi¬ 
fied a cunning, sharp, and dexterous person, for he must be such 
that would be a robber. Hence came the lAlin words fur and 
furari. 


CHAP. I 


OF NATIONS. 


325 


4>po9tUf sapio, prudens sum, to be wise and prudent, is taken 
from the CeUick frsn, the nostrils, it having always been said of 
a prudent and cunning man, that he had a good nose; in Lathi, 
lloaio emunct(V naris. 


OiaXn./j/j/a/rt, a phial, from the Ce/OVA: fiol. 

^tva^, deceplor, callidus, a subtle and deceitful man, from the 
Celtick Jin. 


<I>Xo|,./7amm/7. a flame, from the Celtick fagl; from whence 
also the verb <px\fu, cumburo, injlammo. 

pheretrum, a quiver, comes from the Celtick fiertr. 

<Pixiyyas, darns, lucidus, clear, bright, shining, from 
U » the CallickJin. 

^opcy ^opos, forum, mercatus, a fair, or market, from the 
Cethckj'uir ; and/c-///-signifies the samething. 

liindo,frangn, pcrcnlio, to bruise, beat, batter, from the 
Celuckjluu, a flail, with which they thresh the corn. 


G 




rOINOL, vinvm, wine, is taken from the Cdticlc gouin and 
guin, which signifies the same thing, as hy bura they mean, 
bread. From thence came bnraguuin, and baragon'mer, in French, 
jiroperly to signify imperfect speaking, as children do when 
they begin to ask fur btead and wine. 


in the genitive, FuTrer, vullnr, a vulture, comes from the 
Cdticlc gup, that bird of prey, so named by the CcUlv, so the an¬ 
cient Greeks named it Fi-vj'i and formed the genitive Fu;rof. 

F/ 7 «f, gigos, a giant, cornes from the Celtick gigas, importing 
the same thing; and as an indisputable proof of it, it is derived 
from gi/g, which among the signified proud, indolent, ar ¬ 

rogant, haughty ; and gnnls, a man: and they had reason to 
give them this naiiK!, bc'cause the giants were on nccountt.f 
their strength, fierce, proud, and haughty; but observe that 
F/ 7 «r in the genitive makes and the CeZ/cC still call t'.u ai 

giants. 

1^- ^ Tpiioy, granum, a grain, from the Celtickgreunen. 

Vcivpos, gcsticHs, hilaris, a merry man, who frisks ci.htinually 


326 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. 


about, atul this is taken from gaotir or gavre, a goat, because 
these sort of animals are'always jumping anti capering. 

' rx/«, gluienr g\vi^t from ih^Cettick word glu, 

Tivnor, mentum, a chin, from the Celtick gea, which Greek 
word also signrfies a beard. 

r^oty®-, grus, a crane, a sort of bird, taken from the Cellick 
garan. 

r^acy/^w, grunnio, to grunt like a hog, comes from croin, 
which is the snout of these animals, from grain comes rfwXX®*, 
and porcusy S^-vox porcorum, as also^FfeXX/^®*, grunnio. 

^ ^Fotf, nam, enhn, for, comes from the Cellick rac, so that the 
.r<if oi the Greeks, and the. jPr«ncA word car is only the reverse of 
rue 


claim, io cry out,'comes from the Celtick glas,yih\c\i is 
property a mournful cry or noise, such as is made for the dead; 
and hence it is that they say in many places in France, tonnes 
vn glasy which is done for the dead. They say also sonner 
vn luis, whence the lessus of the Romans, mentioned in the 
twelve tables, and which signifies properly clamor, or ejulatus 
lugubris. 


'Tftiixot, FfiV©- S! antiquus, veins, ancient, old, comes 

from the Celia, who say grec, grotc, and grai, to signify the same 
thing; and hence the most ancient inhabitants of Greece have 
been called Fftfixoi or F^aloi, that is, old inhabitants of the 
country, to distinguish them Ifom strangers, who intermingled 
w ith them, such as the Titans and the Hellenes, who came from 
Hellenus, the son of 'Deucalion, and by descent were Barbarians. 
This is so far true, that Tfaiov/xat, amongst the Greeks them¬ 
selves,signifies as much as tenesco, and Ffar^ is the same thing as 
anus, velula, an old woman. The Greeks vreve ignorant of these 
things and of many others w’hich they have chose rather to pass 
over in silence than to betray their own inscience. 

I There are but few Greek w'ords derived from the Celtick, which 
begin with k and i, and therefore <1 proceed to the other let¬ 
ters. 


cuAp. r. 


327 


OF NATIONS^ 


L 

A'jwvn, palus, staznim^ lacus, a lake, mars.h, mass of water, 
comes from the Celtick lin, len, and /an,which imports the same 
thing; and hence undoubtedly tliey used A«»cf <5r Anjjf for la¬ 
cus torcularis, a press, ttib or trough. 

Aaf.tAvat, lamijia, a blade, from t lie C'/ffic/c word lumen. 

clarus, luceus, splendidus, clear, bright, comes from 
the Celtick latnpr, a lamp. 

lardmn, bacon, from the Celtick lard. 

Aa^w, copio, to take, conies from the CtPac, wlio say law, to 
signify a hand, with which they lay hold on, or take any thing. 

A/nov, linumf tlax, from the Celltck lin. 

Aufinv, lilium, a lilly, conies from the lillj of the Celtic. 

AvYiv^jfiiger, black, comes from///g or/rn/g, which amor:g 
the ancient Gauls signified a raven ; and in Greek is the 

same thing as nigredo, tenebns, 

oculi, eyes, from iheCellick lugai or lagud, an eye. 

. Aw'li^tiv, partemy sumere, to take one's part or lot, comes from 
the Celuck Ivl, a part, and from thence /e^/rand loiter. 

Anrri, prmlo, plrala, a }>irate, comes from laislre, which eren 
now among the Celtic signifies a hark or ship, and in the plural 
in lesiri; and this is so true, that we do not say Atifixor, but 
AnffiHon, with a single ro, to denote sea-rovers and pirates. 
They also called a crew of them Anfixov, and Ati.-p/Jir »?5ef, are 
brigantines or pirates’ ships. From lesirt comes the famous name 
of Acufv 70 fif, who were the ancient I.testrigons, whom the poets, 
following ilomef t in their extravagant and ridiculous fables, made 
to be man eaters, for which some historians laugh at them. They 
were those pirates, who among the liarbarians in verj’^ ancient 
times, settled in Sicilyy and some other places, and being, as it 
were, bom and brought up in their ships, which they called 
iestriy they had from thence the name of Lestriganesy and that is 
the reason why some ancient authors call them the tons of Nep¬ 
tune. It is therefore plain, that theCr/hcA tongue in these early 
times prevailed much in Greecg, Italy and Sicily; and in proof 
nf which there is every convincing reason imaginable. 




328 


TI!E ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. I. 


M 

'Mt'ii, 77 icfu'is, a month, a word certainly ta’-en from the ancient 
Gau:s, for the Bretons, and the li elrh now j,ay mis, to signify 
tl)e srme thing. It was the Eolians, w hose language was almost 
wholly intermixed with the Geltkk, who called it instead of 
Mri». Thty also used M*lf AeXipIvj©-, Alcnsis JJelpiiiuius, in 

MtXiv, miUhnn, millet, comes from the Cellick mel, which 
inil)..rls the same; and htcause millet is yellow, hence tlic 
C /'^s*aid, and their descendants still do, melon or 7nelin, '{ox a 
yellow colour, from which the Greeks made MtiXjv®-, meliuns, 
that is, Jlavi/s, lulens, yellow : and hence the peasants in Bte- 
tufrne olten say, mclin, coir, to signify yellow wax. 

Mv^/xet, formicep, ants> taken from the Celtick^nyer, the same; 
hence they made a swarm df ants, being a compound 

of and being as much as to say, a swarm of ants. 

—. MyXii, niolay molendinnm, a mill, taken from the CcllicJc 
?nilin. 

MivOa, mentha, mint, taken from i\\t Cel lick minty s. 

Mv«, w cluuilere, to shut the mouth, comes from tlie Cellick 
mu, that signifies the same thing; fiom thence comes Mv^nr, 
sacra disccns, sacris initiatns, one who is taught mysteries, and 
has his mouth shut up, that he may not disclose them. Thenue 
m all appearance came mystery. 

MavSi/ri MaSuf, pallium mnlicbre, ancienth’^ a mantle wore 
by women and maidens; it comes from mante of the Celtcp, and 
from thence mantle. 

MaXXof, villus, a y’^ellow skin, with the hair on, taken from 
the Cellick 7nalle\ from wdieiice came the French, malic. 

Mavv'^, parvus equus, a little horse, was taken from the Cel- 
tick yuan, little. 

Mivi-Gw, mhiuo, to diminish, and make little, comes from the 
Celiick minut and menu^ and from this last M.lyv^,minuius, par¬ 
vus. 

Mt9u, vhium, wine, is taken from the Cellick meddp, which is 


OF NATIONS. 


^IIAP, I. 


329 


the mxibnm of the Romansy ard our sweet wines ; tl)€nce they 
formed MeSvWj ebrius 47/m, and Ms 9 >i, ebrlelas. 


J Ma/A^n, and anciently avtu mater, grandmother 

, and mother, comes from tlie Ccltick mam, a mother, and xnau to 
M/denote a grandmother, being as much as to say, old mother, 
cos signifie<l old; from whence came the ^744/of the ancient 
Latins: MiX/x-^aSy, among the ancient Grecians, as well as with 
us, was the voice of infants crying for the mother. Moreover, 
the Greek word “'AtIa paler, ^hy the transposition of one letter 
comes from Tala, and this from tat, that signifies father among 
the CeltcT: the same may be said of Ylaima, father, from w hence 
came , signifying the same thing. All tliese words, which 

were common among the Grecians, Romans, and other nations, 
were taken from the ancient language of Titans or Gnvls, 
who in the fust ages of the world made themselves masters of 
all Europe, and a part of Asia. 


Mio-TTiXov, mespilum, a medlar, came from mesperen, which 


in the Celttck language signified the same thing. 




Mou/rat, properly cnntns, a song, from whence came MoiKrixn, 
musica, which came from Xht Celt^e, who nscfl the word ?//.'»/ 7 e 4 for 
song, and among the Etolians they said Mou 5 for cantilena, a 
song- 'flic Muses, Movaai, took their name from heiK;e, be-v?Jl^J 
cause they made and sung verses; and we can produce autho-^ji^^^ 
ritics, that the true and most ancient of them w ere conlempo- 
rarics w ith Saturn and Jupiter ; and if I am not mistaken, of they^^ 
Tiian race. 


irrisor, a derlder ; who could imagine that this w'ord 
should be taken from tlie action of a swine, and yet it is so; 
for it comes from 777(7c/7, swine, among the and as a hog, 

in grubbing the earth, perpetually turns up bis snout into the 
air: in the same manner men do, when they deride others: so 
from the word jnoch the Greeks have made Mwx©^, irrisor, MuKtat, 
sannio,(ierisio: nay, the Celtce themselves use moccio for deriding; 
for the French rook from tin m this and many other words: again, 
the J.aconians, or iMCcdemorj'ans, from gore, wliich among the 
/ti717//4 signilied a 40a’, made Fuptixu, irrido, suhsannio. From go/e 
of the Cetise, the Greeks made porcus. 'fhe ancient 

scholiasts had reason to say, thui. this word was of the feminine 
gender among the ancient Greeks, but they did not know it w as 




so, because it came originally from gore of the Celtce, which is 


stis foemina, a sow. All which, with many more that might be 




330 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. I. 

alleged, invincibly prove, that the ancient Greehi took a great 
number of words from the Celta. 

I shall not p’X)duce any words under the letter m, that hare 
been borrowed fi-om the Gault, though I may, perhaps, in some 
iuture work touch upon this matter. 

N 

N VS, vox, night, comes from nos of the Celt<p, as well as the 
Isutin word nos, and it is probable, that anciently they used 
Nwf for night. 

Ntv»poi», nervus, a nerve, comes from theCc/n'cA nerven. 
novus, new, comes from iheCellick neu or neves. 

nuhes, clouds, comes from the Celilck word nef, and 
from thence N/^», ningo, to snow. 

nidus, bird’s nest, comes from the Celtick nets, 

^ nudus, naked, comes from the Celtick noeth. 

H61 $f, humor, sen succus arhurum, moisture, or the juice of 
trees and plants, comes from the Celtick nodd. 

T!^n9ov,Jilum, thread, from the Celtick nent, signifying the 
same thing. 

Na9« neo, to spin, is a word taken from the Celtick, 

wherein, according to the variation of dialects, they say naa 
and niddu, 

Nc^fXn, nebula, caligo, a thick cloud, comes from niful, or 
ninl of the Celta, and niul seems to have been derived from the 
word nielle, which spoils the corn. 

o 

'OAOS, /o/ux, the whole, is plainly taken from Celtick 
oil. 

Otavn, vimen, twig, is taken from the Celtick ositg, 

Ovf,finis, terminus, the end, comes from the Celtick oree. 
'Owjf, clamor, a cry, eomes from op of the Celtst, 




CHAP. I, 


OF NATIONS. 


331 


OixO*. crispnt, vndans, curled like a wave, comes from the 
Celiick haul, which signifies a wave and surge. 

ludoy cov fabulor, to laugh, and be merry, comes with¬ 
out doubt from the Ci lluk hrjari, that signifies the same thing; 
and thence came “'Ompof, lusiis, cvvfabulatio ^ as also uapirfir, 
collusor, cortfabulalor. 

iracundus, an angjy man, comes from the CtUick 
orgvcily to denote a proud, haughty person, who is commonly of 
a hasty and cholerick temper. 

'Oc7<X'^ OpQaX/xotf octtlus, an eye, seems to have come 
from op-tal, because the eye is placed in tire forehead, lal in 
Gaulith signifying a forehead. 


P 

)fc]- nAiPOs, paucuSy pauper, poor, comes from the Cellkk 
ptaour, poor or indigent. 

— X\bpp<^, porrum, a leek, comes from the C7e//jVA'powr. 

. rit/Aire, quinque, five, for it was the Enlic/c word for was 
without all doubt taken from the Cel fee, who now say pemp for 
'five; thence came rii/t^Traf A* the number of five; as 

also ni/Avi^, quintus, fifth. 

TIoXr n®x7of, pul^, broth,hasty pudding, a word taken from 
the Gaulish tongue, wherein to this day they say pouls for all 
sorts of broths, which are much in use among them. 'Jlie Jio- 
mans, after the manner of the Sabines and Umbrians, eat this 
sort of ftx>dvery much in the first ages of their settlement. 

rioivn, petna, punishment, comes from the Celtick word poen, 

n/w, pm/77J, pease, a sort of pulse among the Celt^, which 
they called pis. 

ora, limbus, the border of one’s cloaths, was taken 
” from the pez of the Celtee, 

riaXXfintw, pellcx, concubina, a whore, comes from the word 
plach, which signifies a young, brisk girl. 

ITawwtf Tlawwar, papa, pater, father,is taken from pap, which 
amongst the Cclta, signifieu pap ; and as fathers fed their chil¬ 
dren with it, thence they came to be called papa j they were 


332 


the AJilTQUITIES 


CHAP. I. 

also called tatn, because tat amongst the Gauls signified father. 
They likewise called mother muman. What I have said about 
papa is so just, that pappare among the lioynans was the same 
thing, as to give the child pap, and so was rTaTrira^ny with the 
ancient Greeks. 

ITtS/oy, pars pedis superior^ a part of the foot, and comes from 
the Celticic pedd, a foot: from whence they have made ITeJa;, salio, 
as also Tlallu, terram pedihus conculcai e, because it is ivith our 
feet that we jump and tread upon the earth. 

perdix, a partridge, comes from the Celtich perdris 

or perlris. 

riEtvw, formerl}'/)?/;?^!?, to prick, comes from pic or bee, for it 
is with their beaks that birds peek. In short, it was from the 
pic of the Ccllce that they took their n»x^, picas avis, wood¬ 
pecker, because this bird continually pecks the trees with his 
beak. 

n<x/oy df nrx©-, pHens ex lana coacia, a bat or cap; the 
word comes from pilat, which signifies to beat or press, and hats 
are made of wrought wool. It is probable the Ct-//^ were the 
people that brought this fashion into the IVest, as they did 
breeches or trowsers, whence they were called Ga/li hraccati. 

T\o^K'^,porcus, a hog, from the Celtich pore. 

riwX®-, pulliis equinus, they also used nwXi'ov, a foal, which 
they made of the peul or pull of the Celtce. 

nxexw, pUco, neclere, to fold, knit tnsrether, comes from (.be 
Celticic ple"a, and from thence 2v/>tXr)<yaSsf, of the Greeks, w’lio 
sometimes used IlXnTaXrf. 

nx<i$, tabula lata, a table, a plank, taken from the Ccllich 
placq. 

ntivioxii, coma addititia, hair of the bead, or rather a peruke, 
supplied by way of ornament, comes from the Celiick pen, a 
head, or crow’n. Thence they formed Ilriytx©^ for the Appennine 
liills, and so the name of ihe Alps and Appennine both came from 
the Celta, who in the early ages of the world settled in Italy, 
as may be seen from what 1 have said of the Umbrians and Sa¬ 
bines. 

It would be endless were I to insert all the Grech word*, 


CHAP. I 


OF NATIONS 


333 


that came fiom the Celltck, beginning with the letter p or phi^ 
for I have a list of above seventy, which may perhaps hereafter 
appear. As for < 7 , I pass it over, because the Greeks have no 
such letter in their alphabet. 

R 

P'YME, vicus, a street, a word taken from the Ccllick rv. 

'Pv^fMs, rhytkmuSy number, measure of time, comes from 
rhn of the Celt o’. 

Paif, rapes, a rock, comes from the Celtick rock. 

Pu7If, ruga, a wrinkle, comes from the Celltck word rid. 

remus, an oar, is taken from the rhodl of the Celia. 

Papxv'^, rhaphanus, a radish, comes from the rabes of the 
Celltck people. 

Pa^ji^oy, facile mnhilis, easily moved or stirred, as fearn is, for 
the Celia called fearn raden or radin. 

* 1 **^ — Pa!u,perdere, corrumpere, delere, to destroy, to efface, comes 
, from rtiter of the Celia. 

*0 a mean and contemotible thing, is called robe by 

n the Celia, from whence tlie French word derober, to steal. 

frigus, rigor, cold, comes from the Celltck rigol. 

Pt'flc, Rhoa, Rhea the wife of Jupiter, seems to have come from 
the Celia, who say, rhi/, dominus, lord, thus rheam all likeli¬ 
hood signified a lad 3 ^ 


s 

EAIIflN Zrivuv, snpo, soap, comes from the Ce/h'c/c word 
sebon. 

'L'ttaiu, evellere, to pluck up, comes from spaza of the Celia. 

’Z'traduv, spado, eunuc/nts, comes from spaz. 

secale, rye, comes from the Cc/hc/c Sega/. 

Za7'^, sagum, a military vest, comes from the saye of the 
Cellce, that signifies cloatbs. 


33i 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. I* 


agitarey mnvere, to move, stir, comes from the C^ltkk 
$uUe; whence came salum, commotio marisy because the 

sea is perpetually in motion. 

3 t) Sxafu, scapJwy a boat, skiif, is taken from the skif of the 
CetlaCy wlio say eachtf. 

27u»»j, stupa, tow, comes from the CeZZ/ci word 5 / 0 M/). 

vasligneum, olim scuhclluy was taken from the fcit- > 
tell of the Cellte, 

SoX^, gUhus rotundus olioiy a round globe, like a ball, which. * 
they threw into the air, perhaps in honour of the Sun, was-- 
taken from the Celtick word soul, that signifies the same thing, 
but the Greeks afterwards took £oXos for Discus. 

sagena, a net to catch fish with, comes from the - 
Celtick seig7ie. 

SaoXc^/. stipesy palus acutus, a sharp stake, comes from ysgo~. 
hoi of the Cellte, 

rxu€aXoy, sordes^ guisquilite, ordures, sweepings, from the 
Celtick scubelen. 

XUa, porcus ttpud laconeSy a.hog with the Lacedemonians, 
undoubtedly taken from the Celtick word sic, a hog; and even 
to this day when tte Armorican Bretons hunt these animals, they 
only say sic, sic. Many other words under sigma I shall pass 
o\ er, and come to tau. 


^ T x 

T'AYAE, tabula, mensa, a table, coti>es from the Celtick faul, 
or dauly a table, and this word is used in several parts of Bre~ 
tagne. 

Tai fos, taurus, a bull, an ox, taken from taru of the Celtic. 
Tlxof, vectigal, tribute, comes from the Celtick toll. 

Tof»^, tornus, a turning instrument, from the Celtick turn, 
Tvpos Tv^sit, turrisy a tower, taken from of the Celtcc, 
Tv/m,0o», tumulus, atomb from tumle. 

cinis, terra skeu, cyndre, earth, softened from/nr of 

the CeUx, 


CHAP. 1* 


OF NATIONS 


335 


tophuSy a tophar stone, from tuf of the Celia. 

Te'fnv, tenery comes by transposition from tener of the Celta, 
which signifies the same thing. 

Tfi^u, terere, to bruise the earth, and as right earth is dry, 
from the same word iir the Greeks msule a»idTf/(rw, sicco 
arefacw. 

Ttpla39, plur. Ttptuvfs, Lat. triones, that is, boves terrain subU 
gentes, comes from the Celtick tir or ter^ which signifies earth. 
Thence came the Latin septentriones, perhaps because of the 
seven stars, which form a kind of Wain, and are to the north to¬ 
wards the artick pole. 

Ta^Tif, tapesy tapis, tapistry, from the Celtick tapis. 

i ^ •* tectum, legmen, a roof, comes from the 

Celtick teCy from the same word tec and pen, which signifies a 
head, probably comes the Greek TioSivv*, toga, because that in 
foul weather they covered their heads therewith. 

Tpoxof, trochus,' a top, comes from the Celtick tro, from the 
Cautisn trompe, signifying the same thing, they have made 
also. 

Ttr%, mamma, the breasts, comes from the Celtick teth, of 
the same signification. Hence TjQn matrix qua mam^ 

mam prebet. 

T^uffXn, foramen, cavenia, a hole, from the Ct7/?V4 
trou. Hence T^uffobvlai Tfw<yXo5t57«i, troglodites, people liv¬ 
ing in holes and caves. 

Tfuiravn is T^viranov, terebrum, a trepan, comes from the 
Celtick Iron, and pen, a head, because that in trepanning they 
make a hole in the head. 

Tif/AOV£f, termini, fines, bounds, comes from the Celtick ter“ 
men, the same; but this Celtick word termen seems to be com¬ 
pounded of ter or tir, earth and men, a stone, because that an- 
cientlj', as well as now, they set up stones, to mark the bounds 
and limits of their lands. 

TIxXm), vellere, to tear, to pull, comes from the Celtick teil, 
dung, because when they carry dung they pull out the straw; 
and this is so far true, that in IJesychius is nothing else 

hut Ko-r/iof, stercus, dung, which is plainly taken from the Ce/- 
tick word tcil. 



335 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAT. I. 


Tlrum, or rather Tj7»5vr, titanes, terrigena, terrafdii. Titans, 
earth-born, or children of the earth, so the Greeks and Romans 
anciently called them. 1 have shewed at large that the Celtce 
came from these ancient Titans, and the word indeed is all 
Cetfick, coming from tit, earth, and den or ten, a man; and so 
the Grecians h^d reason to give them the name of Tt’ytstTs, quasi 
ierrtgencp, earth-born, or sons of the earth. 

Tdan/, epicheton soils, the sun in Greek, This word is also 
Celtick, but not of the same derivation with the other, as may 
be supposed, but comes from ti, a house or habitation, and tan 
fire: and hence titan, without any variation, signifies a house, 
or the habitation of fire, which suits well enough with the sun. 
And hence probably, the reason why the called it semes 

or sames, being as much as to say sarnies, which signifies i6i J^is. 
^ The Chaldeans said shnsa or samsa, from whence came Samosata,. 
that is, in the old Armenian, and perhaps Syrhick too, the city 
of the sun, a place upon the Euphrates towards /a, fa¬ 

mous for giving birth to Paul of Samosata. This I have mentioned 
incidentally, and it may serve to put us in mind, that there are 
a thousand things in antiquity, upon which we have not suffi¬ 
ciently reflected. 

Tlravos: who would not think but that this word was of the 
same derivation as one of the two former , but it is not, for it 
signifies, ca^.r, sen gypsum, chalk or lime, and comes from tit, 

^ earth, and tan, fire, /. c. the earth of fire, which agrees well 
enough with lime. Who is there that coidd unravel all these 
words and many move, or finfl out the difference and origin of 
them, without the help of the Celtick tongue ? Here it must be 
remembered, that the most ancient Greek alphabet ends with 
tan, so that there are no right 6’ree/r words that begin with T, 
for the I'psilon and the other subsequent letters, were added a- 
long time after. This I shall demonstrate in another book, in 
0 which I shall thoroughly treat of the invention of letters amongst 

" all nations. 

In finishing this table of Greek w'ords, that are derived from' 
the ancient CV/z/V/i, or Gaulish tongue, which is still in being 
in Bretagne in France, and in Wales, I must not forget to ob¬ 
serve to the reader, that I have collected no more than about 
tjvo hundred here; I could have added man}'more, and I am. 
j confident, I can without much difficulty find above six him* 


/ 


chap' I. OF NATIONS. 337 

I 

0 

” dred Greek words, all radicals, and most of them primitives,’ 
and not derivatives, which have been plainly taken from those 
■first Titansf who in ancient times ruled ovqx Greece, Italy and 
- all the West: but though such a number of Greek words seems 
to be surprising, yet it is nothing in comparison of the Latin 
.ones that came from the same language, and that so naturally, 
as to have no other disguise, than that of termination, as may 
; be seen by the following table. 


/ 


Z 







338 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. II 


CHAP. 11. 


A Table of Latin Words taken from the Celtick or 
Gaulish Language. 

AURUMy gold, a word taken from the Celiick, cowr, which 
signifies the same thing. 

Argentum, silver, taken from the Cellich argant. 

Armts, a shoulder, fiom the Celtick arm, which signifies the 
whole shoulder down to the wrist; thence came armilla, a brace¬ 
let, anciently worn on the wrist, and which was much in fashion, 
among the ancient Cellce. 

Arma, arms, in Celtick arm, is derived from the preceding 
word armm, a shoulder, because that in ancient times, their 
arms, such as shield, quiver,and arrows, were usually carried on 
* the shoulders. If any doubt this, it may be easily proved from 
ancient Latin authors. 

Ararc, to plough, from the Celtick arat, the same thing, whence 
aratrum, which in Gaulish was arar. 

Ara, an altar, from the Celtick ar, earth, of which an altar 



was made: for the ancient altars were indeed no other than 
some raised earth ; and the Celtick word autei, as allure amongst 
the ancient Latins, signified no other than raised earth, for an 
altar: from the Celtick ar, they likewise made area, a barn- 
floor; because it is done on the earth, and made of the earth : 
in like manner from the same word ar, joined with or, comes 
«rfltor, being as much as to say, a man appointed for the earth, 
a labourer, for or and ur, signified a man, in old Celtick, 



CHAP. II 


OF NATIONS, 




^ Asinui, an ass, taken from the Cellick aserif signifying the 
-same animal. 

^ " Area, a coffer, chest, taken from the Celtick, arch, signifying 
the same thing. 

Archora, an anchor, from the Cellick angor. 

^ Albus, white, comes from i\\e Celtick alp and alb ; for in that 
language, as well as in many others, the b and the p frequently 
interchange, from whence the ancient Latim, and the Sabines 
themselves said a/pus for white, and I consider it as certain that 
from alpus, the word Alps came, because the mountains are al¬ 
ways white, as being covered with snow j and that also from the 
pen oi ihe Ceht^, Umbrians and Sabines, wdiich signifies a head, 
top, and high place, they made Penninns Mens, the Appenine, a 
vast mountain in Italy. Thus these two celebrated words pro¬ 
ceed certainly from the Gardisk tongue, and are older by several 

ages than the city ot Home. 

/ 

Attus, high, 'is taken from the ancient Celtic, who still say 
alt, for the height of a mountain, and might not the word Afhs 
be formed also from b}'the transposition only of a letter? 
This was the notion always entertained of that giant or hero, who 
was nearly related to Saturn and Jupiter, and consequently to 
tlie Titan and Cellick race. Indeed he was looked upon to be a 
huge, tall man; and hence it was, that they likewise gave him 
the name of Telamon, which was taken from the Geliec also, w-ho 
say tal, for tall, and mon, or man, for man. Besides, this hero, 
who had skill in astrology, lived indeed in Mauritania, in Africa, 
whence it came to pass, that rthe.Ti/a«s, of whom he was one, 
were worshipped there for demi-goils. This remark is sufficient 
to clear up, and to confirm many things in ancient history, which 
have been disguised with ridiculous fables. 

^ ^Arguere, to reprove, comes from the Cellick argvi, w'hich is 

, the same thing, and thence also comes arguz, from whiidi came 

the Latin aretilice. 

u , ^ 

\ Auimn, the soul, from the Cellick ane, and ere, whicli sig¬ 
nify the same, and it is probable that the Ta/i.'i word animus, 
came from the Cellick anevne. qi 

V .Abdo, abdere, to hide, comes from the Cellick amdo. 
-Avidilas, greediness, from the Cellick avyd. 

^ z 2 

'n 





340 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP, n 


jlcer, sbaq>, from the Celtlck aigr. 

a bird, has its origin from the Celtick afais. 

Auspex, a sooih-sayer, I suppose to have been taken from 
the Celtick au or ufu, the liver of aninials; but that from att, 
and spicio, to inspect, they have formed the word auspex, to sig¬ 
nify a person, that inspects and consults the fibres of the liver; 
and as it was difficult to pronounce this word, they at last made 
anispex of it. What confirms me in this notion is, that the 
most celebrated and most ancient divinations were performed by 
inspecting the livers of animals, which might be proved by many 
ancient authorities, concerning which it is also proper to observe, 
tliat the ancient word specio, or-spicio, to inspect, was taken from 
spi, or from spu of the ancient Celtte, which signified an eye, 
whenc’e came the word spy. 

That which I have said concerning the word auspex, may also 
be extended to that of augiir, a diviner or soothsayer, which 
comes from the CM, liver, and .g«r or gar, a man, and it 

is no more than au-gur, which, word for word, signifies a man of 
the liver, that is, that consults and foretels things by the liver. 

1 am therefore confident, that Varro, and other Roman authors 
that followed him, were mistaken in deriving the word from 
aves, birds, by which the Latins took their auguries: for if the 
first syllable of augur came from avis, as they pretend, from 
whence must they have had gur, unless it were from the Celtce, 
who always used it for a man, as they still do g«r. This and a * 
thousand other things plainly shew, that the ancient Latins, 
while they went yet by the name of Aborigines, borrowed much 
from the Celtcr, or Gauls, w ho went then by the name of Titans, 
over whom reigned in Italy, in the early ages of the 

‘World. 

B 

BARBA, a beard, comes from the Celtick barv and barb, a 
beard. 

BnUa, a round bubble upon the water, comes from the Cel- 
lick buillnnd bul, signifying the same thing: of buill, the Romans 
made buUire, to boil, because boiling water makes such sort of 
bubbles, and from thence also came the word ampulla. 

Branchicp, the gills of fishes, from the Celtick brenc. 

.Bracce?, trousers, from the Celtick brag, which in the plural 




eiiAP. 11 


OP NATIONS, 


341 


is bragoni, and because it was the Gaulsy who out of Asia, 
bi'ought this sort of strait and close garment into Europe, they 
were from thence called Galli Braccati. 

Bracliium, an arm, comes from the Celtick brecJi, for so the 
Gauls called an arm, because of its being, as it were, broken in 
the middle, whereas the thigh is all of a piece; and this sort of 
discontinuance or joint, is called breche, a word which the French 
have taken from the Celtce, for it is neither Greek nor Latin. 

Boreas : this is now commonly taken fur the Xorfk wind, but 
ancientlj', and that with good reason, for the North East wind, 
which came from the summer Wi/icc,and blew from between the 
East and the North; it is derived from the word bore of the Celtce, 
which signifies morning, because that in the morning, or when 
there was most summer light, it can«e from between the East and 
the North, wtience this wind usually blew ct that season of the 
year. Some Latin authors have properly distingJiished it from 
tile vent us seplentriunalis, which we call \\\e North, wind. 

Brevis, short, comes from the Celtick berr. 

Brassica, a cabbage,, was taken from brisyc/i of the Celta, sig¬ 
nifying the same, as well o,%caulis, which was taken from the 
Cl tick caul. 

Balena, a whah*, a>mes from the Celtick bulen. 

Baculus, a s^aff, comes from the Celtick bach, and bagl: as 
fastis comes from tiie./wi^of the Celtcc, a stick, and so fusta with 
them imported the same thing as fustepercutcre, to beat with a. 
Slick. 

Buxus, box, is taken from the Celtick beus, and box.^ 

Bucca, the cheek from the Celtick hoch, that implies the 
same thing. 

BrennUs, king or prince cf the who took the cit}'of 

liomf, conies plainly from the Celtick breun, or brennyn, a king ; 
there was also another of the same name, who was king of the 
Celtep, or Gauls, and who perished' in Greece, as he was about to 
go and plunder the temple of Delphos. 

Bardns, plur. bardi, bards, poets.of the Gauls, a word taken 
from the Celtick bardd, a poet, or diviner: ia/d/o-jcg with them 
is the same thing as jDoesii-, carmen, poetry and verses. 

^ Bagande, the bagaudes, a body of highway-men and robhersj, 




512 


THE ANTIQUTIES 


CHAP. II 


among the Gauls, much mentioned in ancient history, and de¬ 
rived from bagal, which in Cellick is a troop. 

Brilto and Briftus, in the plur. Briltoncs and Brilti, a people 
called as well in France, as in a part of Great Britain^ 

commonly called The word is Celtick, being derived ' 

from brit and britk, to signify a man painted, and marked w ith 
divers colours ; and with them brilho, was a verb that signified 
pingere, oariegare, to paint and adorn with divers colours ; so 
that Britlories^ or Britti, imported no move than painted men. In 
short, these people, in ancient times, painted their bodies and 
faces especially, with a bluish colour, as may be proved from 
several authors. Whence they are somewhere in Martial, called 
Picti Brltanni, speaking of the Britai'ns, in the country w'e now 
call England; and here it w'ill not be improper to observe that 
t!ie words Britanni and Brilania, come from the Cellick briti, 
painted, and tan or sfan, country: so that signifies 

no more than a country of poinled people. 'I’he Grecians who 
have written Bpfiliec and B^i71a,yi'at, with a single nu, and two 
tans, had more regard to the right name of this people, than the 
liomnns, who used Brdannia. I could shew in this place, that 
the Brulians, a people of Joteer Italy, had their true origin from 
iheCellrv, as well as the (Tmbrians n\u\ Cabins, and that conse- 
quentiy the ancient Greeks, called B-rutia, the country’’ of the 
Brniians. properly enough B^tlTiu and Brellia and 

Brellanidf whatever some learned erilics may say to the con¬ 
trary. ' 


c 

CANTUS, a song, comes frcm the CrZ/icA-c^«, soranere, to 
•sing, from cana, and caulare from eluinla, which is the same 
tiling. 

Camera, a chamber, is formed from the Celtick cainlr. 
p Canabis, hemp, from canub of the Celtat. 

Centum, an hundred, is taken from the Celtick cant. 

Candela) a candle, from the Cellick cantol. 

Cantilis, a channel, from the C^//7cA ca«o/. 

Cancer, a cancer, from the Celtick cnncr, or crancy, 

Cuula, a sheepfold, from the Celtick cail, 

Caidis, cabbage, from the Cellick caul. 


CHAP. II 


OF NATIONS 


343 


Cervus, a deer, takes its origin from caru or cativ* 

Catena, a chain, from the Celtick chadcn, 

Cunkhlns, a rabbet, from the Celtick coulnich. 

Capistrum, a halter, from the Celtick cabestr. 

Canns, white, cuin, white hairs, from the C’e/ZicZ-, can and ca/n» 
white, from whence came candiiluf, candor and canites. 

Calones, soldiers hoys, servants in an army, that carried wood 
and water, fit for soldiers, was taken from the Celtick cale, a 
wood. 

Cule and cala, a port, a harbour, comes plainly from cal, 
which signifies the same thing with the Celta;: and from thence 
came Bardica/a, or Biiniigala, Bouideanx. It seems to me that 
the Romans from the word cafo, or cala-is, made Portus Iccius, 
which we now call i'olais, opposite to Dover. Besides, the an¬ 
cient turned iha Caulish word cal into and justly 

rendered it pvrti/s: and thence came the word portus-cale, that 
is, port a port; Portngaf, a kingdom adjoining to Spain, took its 
name from this city, and so this name kCrlfick, aa well as that 
of 1^7/sitania, which amounts to as much as the country of the 
Lusians, v.\io were originally that mixed with the Iberi¬ 

ans: in shfivt, Lisbon signifies no more than the habitation of 
the Lnsians, and its true ancient name was Lmibona, from 
W'hich they made Utymbona, as if it had been the residence of 
Uli/sses, which is a fiction of the Creeks, who are full of fables ; 
many move things might be said upon tins occasion, but I have 
oj)ly slightly touched upon this, and now proceed to other mat¬ 
ters. 


Carmen, a verse, comes properly from carm or garm, which 
among the Celta, signified a joyful cry, and the verses sung by 
the bards, to encourage the soldiers before they went to battle: 
and this is so evident that even Xaf/WT) in Greek is the same as 
pngna, and conjlictus ,* as also latitm, and gaudium. 

Car rum and carnts, a car or chariot, taken from the Celtick 
curr. 


(3 


Calamus, a quill to write with, from calaf. 
Cams, dear, beloved, from the Celtick car. 


CuUellus, a knife, from the Celtick coutel and goutel. 

CvnderCf to hide, from the Celiick cuddio ; so cutis, the skin. 




344 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. II. 


is taken from cuta and cux,a, which also signifies to hide, because 
the skin hides the flesh and bones. 

Cmx, a cross, a gibbet, taken from the Cellich croug and 
croas, 

•"Coruna a crown, from the Celtickcarun, and coron. 



- Cornu, a horn, from the Ctltick corn or cern, 

^ / Cura, care, from the Cellkk cur, as curare is taken from curo^ 
to take care. 

Corpus, a body, is formed from corf of the Celia. 

Coccus, and coccum, scarlet and red colour from coch red. 

Cygnus, a swan, from the Cellkk cyn of cin. 

^ Chia, a small chest, from the Cellkk cisl. 

Cana, supper, from coan or coen of the Celia. 

Chorus, quire, from the Cellkk chor or cor. 

Circius, a violent wind, from the Cellkk cyrch, irruption, im¬ 
petuosity. 

Crines, hairs, from the Cellkk crin, aridus, there being nothing- 
so dr}' as hairs. 

Civitas, a town, city, from the Cellkk cyveithas, which sigiii- 
/ tied society and commerce, both which are to be met with in 
cities. 


D 


DECEM, ten, in Greek Alxa, comes from the Cellkk dec, 
which signifies the same thing. 

Duo, two, comes from the deu, or daou of the Celia. 

Dem.Oi tooth, taken from ihzCellkk dant, 

t 

Dignus, worthy, from the Cellkk dui. 

Denarius, a penny, from the Cellick diner. 


< 


Disccre, to learn, from the Cellick disqui. 


Dies, a day, from the Cellkk di and rfciX; signifying the same 
tb ng. 


GHAF. II 


OF NATIONS, 


345 


^ Dolus, fraud, deceit, from the Celiick duxjl, 

-Dolor, grief, pain, from the Celiick dolur. 

-Donum, a gift, from t\\e,Celtick daun, don ; so donate, to giv« 
comes from doni, which signifies the same. 

Dux, captain, leader, from the Celiick dug, 

Duellum, duel, seems to have been taken from the Celiick du- 
fel, quia est duorum certamen ; and therefore I will maintain 
that the Romans cannot support the derivation they have made' 
of the word helium. 

Dehere, to owe, comes from the Celiick dever, debilum, 

Dacrima, the ancient word for lacrimae, tears, comes from the 
Celiick word daigr, which signifies the same thing. 

Degunere, an old word, the same as jenlare, to breakfast, 
comes from the Celiick dcjuiny which properly imports breaking 
of fast, for it is compounded of di-juni, i. e. without fasting. 

Durum, belonging to water, is taken from the Celiick word 
dour, water : in Latin it is often used as the termination of the 
names of towns, as Balavodurum, &c. which intimates that most 
cities were built near lakes or rivei-s. 

JE 

RNNUS, an old word, and the same as annus, a year, seems to 
have been taken from iho-Celhck henn, old and ancient, because 
the year as it comeson continually growsold. 

Elep/iatilus, an elephant, comes from olifant, and elcfant, sig¬ 
nifying in Celtick the same thing. 

L'.lementum, an element, from the Celtick ulfen. 

Kleetrum, a sort of mixed metal, taken from the Celiick elydr, 

Excusare, to excuse, from the Celtick escux.o, the same 
thing. 

Exercere, to exercise, taken from the Celtick eserci. 

Erigere, to erect, comes from the Celt ck etiger. 

Examen, a swarm offices, from the Celtick essaim. 


t 


/ 




346 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. If. 


F 

t 

** F0ENU3f, hay, from the Cellick /oen, signifying the same 
thing. 

Fumiii, an oven, from the Celticlc forn. 

Fjtstisy a club, from the. Cellick fust ; they also saidfor 
Juste percntcre, to beat with a stick. 

Fcrctrum, a quiver, from the Cellickfeirt)\ 

Fucus, belong to painting, had its original from the Cellick 
Fjug ; so Ffugio with them is the same as/</c«rc, to paint. 

Fur, a thief, comes from theCellickfur, signifying a cunning 
and sharp man ; for he must be such to make a good thief. 

Fossa, a ditch, taken from the Cellick ffos. 

Franum, a bridle, from the Cellick ffruyn. 

Funis, a rope, from the Cellick fun, or Junen. 

Fallere, to deceive, from the Cellick fallal. 

Flamma, a flame, from the Cellick^flam. 

Furca, a fork, from the Cehlck forch. 

Fulsus, false, frotn the Cellickfals. 

Fa lx, a sickle, from the Cellick falch. 

Folium, a leaf, from the Cellick fallen. 

Forma, form, fashion, from the Cellick farm. 

Fenestra, a window, from the Cellickfenestr. 

Fornax, a furnace, borrowed from the Cellick foiirnes. 

Fremere, to rage, is taken from the Cellickfremmi, and from., 
mi, and thence came the Latin words framea and romoheea, a 
sort of swords used by the Barbarians. 

a 

Forum, a fair, market, taken from the Cellick four and feur. 

Feslus, a festival, time of pleasure and rejoicing, from the 
Cellick Jest. 

Formido, fear, from the Cellick fourm. 

FeruSf Qerce, cruel, taken from the Cellick fero* 


N 


CilAl’. II. 


OF NATIONS, 


347 


G 

GFGAS, a s,iant, comes from the Cdllckgigas and geanl, used 
fertile same thing; and so in the genitive it makes for 

giantos, to express the word geant. 

(venn, a knee, from the Cnli'ick glin, from whence came the 
FMit/t word clinare, and afterwards inclinare, to bend the 
knee. , . 

Grus, a crane, a bird, comes from the Cellick gru. 
lA' Granum, grain, from the Cdtick greun. 

Gracia, grace, from the Cellick word gras* 

Gloria, glory, from the Cellick gloar, 

Gladiits, a sword, froii^the Cellickglaif. 

Globus, 4 globe, or bowl, from the Cellick globin. 

Glnlen, glue, from the Cellick glu and glut. 

GoniTii, gum, borrowed from the Cellick gornm. 

Geslus, gesture, comes from the Cellick gest. 

Gleba, a <-lod of earth, from the Cellick gleh, which signifies 
earth moistened with water, as clods of earth are to make them 
friiithil. 

Gliiliis and gla/o, a glutton, from the Cellick gluth, a greedy 
gut; thence came the \erb gluiire, to devour. 

Gal/us a Gnul. This name, ^so famous in ancient times, came 
from the same Gauls, w ho used to say, and still do, gallu, to 
signify posse, to he able, and valere, to prevail j and this is so 
true, that the Latin word valere is derived from the gallu or 
I vallu of the Cellse, among whom galluns and galluog, is the 
I same as potent, valiant, and gaZ/oH/, is pow'er, or might; so 
that the word Gallu’s, or Ganl, properly signifies a potent, and 
valiant man ; and I am confident, that the word Celtee, a Ce/f, 
or Gaul, signifies the same thing. In short, Gallec, with 
these ancient and renowned people, imported the same as Lin¬ 
gua Gallica, as it does the French language now among the 
Armorican Bretons, w hich tongue succeeded that of the Gaulsg 
and took so many things from it. 

GenOf a cheek, taken from the Cellick gen. 





548 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


GilAP. 1T.< 


Ganxa, a goose, in Latin anser, from the Celtick goaz, signi¬ 
fying the same thing. 

G ranni, they were the mustaches of the Gothsf derived from’ 
the Ccllkk word grann, properly signifying eyebrows, which 
stand in the same stead to the eyes> as mustaches do to the 
lips. 


11 

IIABILJS, nimble, taken from the Celiick habile signifying 
the same thing. 

Hunestus, comes from the Celtick honest. 

Hib re, an old word from whence came prohibere, to stop, 
comes from the Celiick hybu, signifying the same thing. 

Hostis, a word according to Varro, that anciently signified a* 
host, and afterwards came to signify an enemy, the reason of 
which that learned Roman knew not. But the word hostis, 
without changing a letter, at this very day, amongst the pos¬ 
terity of the Celia, signifies a host; and the ancient Latins took 
this word from'them. Again, the word hospes, which signifies 
a host was taken from the Celtick osp and hospyd, that denoted 
the same thing. So that hospilium is as much as to say hoapiJti, 
the host’s-house or inn. For ti in Celiick is a house, a thing 
that neither Frtrro nor any of the could discover, be¬ 

cause they were derived from a foreign language, which they, 
neither knew, nor could guess at. 

I 

ITA, yes, comes from ia of the Gelta, and several other na¬ 
tions, by the addition of la, and signifies the same thing. From 
ia, also by a transposition of the letters, the Latins made aio, I 
affirm it, I say yes; as from the of the Celia, yes, they made 
their 5JC, which is nothing else. 

Ire, to go,, eo, 1 go, seems also to come from the ia, or ya, 
that is, eo. In the preterperfect tense it makes et and bet, gone, 
or I am gone; and from bet the ancient Latins made beleve, to- 
go, and in process of Wme ptlere; for they said Uomam petere,. 
to go to Rome. 

Jusculum, pottage, broth, from the CJiick is gel. 


cnAi». II 


OF NATIONS. 


349 


Jan7iarius, the month of January ; this word seems to have 
been taken from the Celtce, who say jenver, or guenver, and is 
compounded of /rigidMS, cold, and aer, or air; and so 
thisjewuer with them, is as much as to say, the month ojcold 
air, which suits well enough with January. These people used 
also feuvrer for the Latin Fehruarius, which was the month of 
lustrations. Mis me7irs, orniismers, was il/arcA, because it was 
then that the Gaiils began war every year. Mis ebreil of the 
'Celtre, is the same as the Latin Mensis Aprilts, and was so called 
because the earth then began to open and receive the heat of 
the sun. Lastly, to say no more, the Mams of the Romans was 
called Mis Mae, or May, by the Celt(p, that is a flowery month, 
because every herb is then in bloom in the fields and mea¬ 
dows, and it is therefore in vain for the Romans to derive maius 
from Maia, the mother of Mercury ; and perhaps also they may 
'be mistaken in deriving cTa/u/arua' from Janus, when in fact it 
signifies onlj’^ a cold month, according to the Celtick.etymology. 

Justus, just, from the Celtick just. 

Imago, an image, from the Celtick imaich. 

Imitari, to imitate, from the Celtick imita. 

Jugum, a yoke, comes from theCeltick jau and joy. 

Jejrmium, fasting, from theCeltick juni, and the Celtick w'ord 
juni is the same as jejunare. 

Juvenis, a young man, comes from the Celtick jovanc and 
jovange. Juventus is also derived from the jovanctis of the 
'Cel Ice. 

Jovis, Jupiter, the ancient and proper name of that imaginary 
deity, is taken from the-Ct■'//ic/l,■Jao^^ and jot^, which comes from 
jeiiue, young, because he was the youngest of Suturn^s children. 
He w’as a potent king of the Titans, or Cellee, who were not ig¬ 
norant of his name. When he was put among the number of 
the gods, the Grecians called him AU, the same as Lncidus, the 
father of tight, and the Latins gave him the name ot Jaou-Piter, 
(iiatis, father Jou: and hence Varro, Cicero, and others of the 
Romans were mistaken, when they affirmed tho.tJapiter%\g- 
r\\hed Juvans Pater ; and it was a remarkable error to derive 
.Jovis from the word which with the modern Hchraicians, 

is the name of the living and true God. 'I’he same thing may be 
said of Saturn, w'hich docs not come from the Hebrew satur, -to 
Jiidc, as aforementioned; for it signifies strong, valiant, warlike. 


350 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. II 


LABOR, labour, comes from the Cellkk labour, as lahorare 
does from labourat, to labour. 

Lamna, a lake, comes from the Celticlc la^uen. 

Laridum, bacon, comes from the Cellkk lard.-^ 

Lissus, a mournful cry, a word taken from the twelve tables, 
and is originally Cellkk, who used the word lak for a cry, or 
mournful noise. 

Locus, a place, comes from the Cellkk lech. 

Linea, a line, from the Cellkk Hn. 

Lhna, mud, from the Cellkk Urn. 

Libra, a balance, from the Cdikk liffr. 

Lixivium, 13 'e, from the Cellkk Ikious, or leku. 

Litare, to offer sacrifices, seems to come from the hi of. the 
Celtic, a feast, solemnitj', because they used to offer sacrifices 
on such occasions. 

Lamina, a blade, comes from the Cellkk lamen. 

Lavenda, lavender, is taken from the Ce/Z/'c/: 

1 allium, death, from the Cellkk lelern., 

Jjancea, a lance, from the Cellkk lanes. 

Lntjueus, a snare, from the Cellkk hu s. 

Latrocinium, theft, robbeiy, comes from the Cellkk laxronu, 
as latro does from larr, or lazrou; fur luza with the Celia, sig¬ 
nified oeddere, to kill, to put to deall). 

Lis, litis, strife, comes from the Cellkk les, or lys, to signify 
a court of justice, where strifes are determined. 

Leo, a lion, comes from the Cellkk leu, or Icon, for leva in 
their language signified to devour as lions do. 

J orka, 0- cuirass, comes from the Cellkk luris. 

Longus, long, from the Cellkk langiie or /ag. 

Lucia, combat, comes from h/ydd of the Celtic, which sij- 
nifics a place of battle, ' 


cuAr. II 


OF NATIONS 


351 




Luna, the moon, comes from lun of the Celia, who used Di 
lun for Monday, 2 iViA the Celta formed their word lun, from 
thatof llun, an image, or representation, because they imagined 
they saw the picture of a man in the moon ; or else it is de¬ 
rived from leitn, full, in the Celtick tongue, because the full mooa 


was held in great veneration by the Celia. 


M 

MAMMA, the breast, undoubtedly comes from wiaw, the 
^If^ellick word for mother, and from mam came mama, a mother 
as from lal, a father, canie iala. 

Medkus, a phys-ician, comes from the Celtick word meddig. 

Molestla, trouble, from the Celtick molest. 

o'^^ey^^Tembriim, a member, from the Celtick memhr. 

Metallnm, metal, from the Celtick metal. 


Musculus, a muscle, from the Celtick mescle. 
Mespilum, a medlar, from the Celtick mesperen. 
Mhcere, to mingle, from the Celtick misgu. 
Metere, to reap, from the Celtick medi. 


Mare, the sea, comes from the Celtick mar, or rnor, the same 
thing; and from comes the Latin word annoiia, which sig¬ 
nifies adjoining to the sea, and properly is the name of Bretagne, 
a maritime province of France. 

Mel, honey, comes from the Celtick word mel. 


Milium, millet, comes from the Celtick word mele. 

Mille, a thousand, ixom the Celtick mill. 

Mercurius, Mercury, an imaginary deity, a prince of the 
Titans, who reigned in Iluly by the name of Faunus, and in a 
great part of the west; the word comes fiom the Celtick, meres, 
merchandize, and itr a man ; for anciently he was considered 
as the god of merchandize; Teutates \\a.s his other name, 
which in Celtick was Teu'-Tat, the father of the people ; and 
the name of Hermes which was given him, meant a diviner in 
their language, 

Marla and merga, marie, certainly comes from the Celtick 
marie, which imports the same thing. 


352 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. II. 


Meixatus, a fair, market, comes from the Celtick word mar- 
chala, mercari, to merchandize. It is to be observed, that 
March among the Celtce signified a horse; and because that 
people were continually in war, horses were those things mostly 
bought and sold in fairs and markets. It is also from March 
and schal, that the French \vord mareschal come?,, which signifies 
a person who has charge of the horses j this word is more Ger¬ 
man than Gaulish. 

Malus, evil, wicked, from the Odtick mall, signifying bad, 
rotten, corrupted; mnllu in that language, signifies to rot and 
corrupt. 

Maries, a matern, a little animal, comes from the Celtick 
mart. 

Menlum, a chin, from the Celtick mant. 

Magisler, a master, from the Celtick maestr and mestr. 

Merenda, a beaver, in some provinces called Marende, comes 
from the Celtick Meren ; and the word is used to this day in 
Bretagne, for there Merenna signifies agere merendam. 

'n 

NOBILIS, noble, generous, comes from the Celtick ncbl, the 
same thing. ■' >> 

Novem, nine, comes from the Celtick naou, as decern does 
from dec, and viginti from vigtient ; and in the same manner 
the Greek and Latin numbers are taken from the Gaulish 
tongue. 

Negatio, refusal, denial, comes from the Celtick word nag and 
.nagea. 

Novus, new, from the Celtick neu and neves. 

it. 

Neptis, a niece, from nith of the Celtcc. 

Kubes, a cloud, from the Celtick nef. Heaven, tow'ards which 
• the clouds move. 

Xox, night, comes from the 

Nidus, a bird’s nest, from the Celtick nijlh. 

.Nebula, a mist, irom the Cel tick niful and niul. 


CHAP. II 


OP NATIONS. 


353 


Netumyfdum, thread, from the Cellick neut. 

NervuSf a nerve, from the Cellick nerven, 

Natura, nature, comes from the Cellick nalur. 

Kota, a note, mark, is derived from nod of the Celtae ; amonj 
whom nodi is the same as nolure. 

^amsa, a famous Persian goddess, called also arttsea. Kanrea 
•seems to be derived from the Cellick nani, a grandmother, in 
Latin avia; and ancra was perhaps taken from ana, a mother, 
or nurse; and this seems to be so founded is probability, that 
Diana, which is nothing but the moon, signities properly the 
mother of the light. From hence also comes the Greek name 
Xi'kxvx, v/ritten usually the moon or Diana. It is 

strange that neither tlie Gree/is nor Romans, neither nor 
Varro, could discover this: but the Persians, even to this day, 
have a great many words in their language which come from 
the CellcE; and which, considering what 1 have said on that 
subject, is not singular. Conscciuently their might ea¬ 

sily come from the Cellick nani, avia, a grandmother ; so that 
the Persians, who highly overrated the moon, hy way of honour 
might call it sometimes nana, and at other times ana, i. e. 
grandmother, or mother, as their false gods were called fathers. 
These things which have so much perplexed many learned men, 
and especially commentators ujjon the hible, justly required be¬ 
ing cleared up a little for their better information. 

o 

OPERART, to act, operate, comes from the Cellick oher, 
which imports the same thing. 

Oleum, o\\, icoxn ihh Cel tick oleu. 

OJficium, ofTice, Comes from the Cellick oJTice. 

Ocevpare, td occupy, from the Cellick octtipi. 

‘Obligare, to oblige, to bind, is taken fioni the Cellick obligea. 

Ora, terminus, end, bDund.or limit, conies from the Cellick or. 

Ordinnre, to order, put into order, from the Cellick ordreni, 

Occo, a harrow, from the Cellick ogl and ognet ; and aptedi 
with them is the same thing as occare, to harrow. 

A A 






S54 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. IL»' 


P 

PAXIS, bread, comes from the CellkJc paripn, and hara-panen, 
which signifies unleavened bread ; from whence came the Latin 
word prtwh’, and the Gm-fe n«yor, and even woiravcy, popanwHy 
placenta, w'hich is a kind of cake w’ithout any leaven in it. 

Prcsepe, a stable, manger, comes from the Celtick presep. 

Pempe, the ancient word for dve, quinque, w’as taken from 
the CeUich pemp, which implies the same thing; from whence 
the jHolians made their quinque, and also their wlf^uxs, 

fifth. 

Picus, and picus~mariius, a wood-pecker, comes from the 
Celtick pic, the word for that bird, which in ancient times was 
held in much esteem by the Celtce, and other nations; their 
princes and augurs made their divinations by them, before they 
w ent to war, whence they called it picus-marlius. The word 
pica comes from the same origin, and both the one and the 
other are derived from pic or bee, which with the Gauls signified 
a beak, because these-sort of birds continually peck the trees 
with their beaks. 

- price, value, comes from the Ccf/ic/r/?m, which sig¬ 

nifies the same; and pm anciently signified a reward among 
the Ceif^e, which they made of the best and most valuable spoils 
of the enemy, and this sort of recompeuce was used as an ac^- 
knowledgment of valour. 

Porta, a gate, entry, comes from the Celtick w’ord portk,; 
fiom which they also made purlus, a haven, by which mer¬ 
chandize is brought into cities. In like manner from porih, a 
h aven, or harbour, comes the Celtick word porthi, poilare,fen e, 
to (•arr 5 % because it was to and from those ports that they im¬ 
ported and exported goods. 

Pcllis, the skin, comes from the Celtick pil, the bark of a tree, 
the skin being as it were the same thing for covering the 
bod}?^, as the bark is for a tree; and hence comes the word pet/, 
so taken from the skin or rind of a thing. 

Purpura, purple, comes from thc'Cdtick porfor ; whence it is 
plain the Greeks made ITofCo^a, purple; in short, the ancient 
Gaw/.v frequently made use of scarlet and purple, and adorned 
.their bodies with them, in some mode or other of dress. 




CHAP. II 


OF NATIONS 


S55 


' Pcena, pain, punishment, comes from the Cellick word poeriy 
or poan, which being written with an oe, the Romans retained 
and pronounced it in their language. They did the same with 
cocna, which is derived from coen ; so also foentm, is taken from 
poen, and some others. Though the modern changed the 

ancient pronunciation, yet they usually retained the ancient 
w'ay ofwvrvAn" poena, cocna, fccnum; and some without any rea¬ 
son, have affected to change this method and usage. 

Poslis, a post, comes from the Celilck post, w hich is the same 
thing. 

Postilena, a horse crupper, comes from the Cellick postoluyn. 

I Pennin7/s mans, and Appenninus, the Appennine hill?, comes 
from the Cellick word pen, or penn, a head, top, or high place; 
and perhaps they were the Umbrians and the Sabines, who were 
the descendants of the Celiac, that anciently gave these moun¬ 
tains of Italy this name. 

Punctum, a point, is borrow'ed of the Celiac, who say poent. 

Pondo, a pound, comes from the Cellick pant. 

Pandas, a w'eight, is formed from the Cellickponr.er or ptjnner; 
and because it comes from pnnner, it preserves its origin, mak¬ 
ing ponderis, and not ponnei is, in the genitive case. 

US Porrum, a leek, is taken from the Cellick pourr. 

Pialnm, a meadow, from the Cellick prat; Vurra, therefore, 
is in the wrong, in deriving it from paralum, re.ady. 

Porcus, a hog, comes from the Cellick porch, 

Pupulus, people, from the Cellick poble. 

Pisum, pease, comes from the Cellick pis. 

Pleclere, to bend, fold, from plelhu of the Cellee. 

Prtesto, ready, comes from the Cellick piesi. 

Pompa, pomp, ostentation, comes from the Cellick pompa ; 
‘ and the Celine say pempadi, to appear gay and ostentatious. 

{/ Pel/ere, to drive away, from pell, far, still used by the Cel- 
icc''s descendants. 

Puls, hasty-pudding, comes from the Cellick ponls, for in 
some places they call the Latin pulles, so j hence ajso came the 
.word piilmenliim. 


SS6 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. II. 


Plicare^ to fold, conies from the Celiickplega. 

— Parare, anciently signified to dress, adorn, for the Celia use 
the word para in the same sense: in short, paratus, and appara¬ 
tus in Latin, is the same as apparel or ornament. 

R 

RAYA, athornback, (a fish) the word wa*s borrowed fiom 
the Celtick rae, which signifies tl)e same. 

* C* 

/ 

Rana, a frog, from the Cellick ran. 

— Rastellum, a rake, conies from the Cellick laslel. 

Ratio, reason, confies from the Celtick rceson, 

Radere, to shave, comes from the Celtick raxa. 
o ' Regnare, to reign, from the Cellick renn, or regn. 

Remedium, remedy, from the Celtick remeU 
Rhythmus, rhime, comes from the Cellick rim. 

Rota, awheel, from the Celtick rot, or rhod. 

Ruina, ruin, from the Cellick rlieuni. 

Resina, rosin, from theCellick rousin. 

Rosa, arose, from the Cellick rosen. 

Runcp, and Runiscc lilera,rnnkk characters, w'ere those made 
use of by the ancient northern people, especially the C/?ra^»ri of 
Jutland, the Danes and the Szcedes. These letters, of which I 
have spoken at large elsewhere, were very ancient, and no 
more than sixteen in number ; they served to make calendars 
and inscriptions in honour of the northern princes and heroes ; 
and they were more particularly, much used in enchantments 
and magick, and it is likely that it was from thence they w'ere 
named runce, and runhct lilcra ; for rhin, from whence runa is 
formed, in the Cimbrick and Cellick tongues signifies a secret 
and hidden mystery, and rhinian, enchantments. Women of 
greatest quality were much given to these secret magical mys¬ 
teries ; and for this reason they called them runes, or adelmnes 
in the north, which signifies noble runes; and nothing of mo¬ 
ment was undertaken without consulting them, they being es¬ 
teemed as it were the oracles and interpreters of the gods. 

Rhea, the daughter of Uraiius, the wife of Saturn, and the 


CHAP. II. 


OF NATIONS. 


S5f 


mother of Jou, whom the Latins called Joupifer, and we, now, 
Jupiter, The name of this potent princess, of whom they igno¬ 
rantly made a goddess, seems to be derived from the Celtick word 
rhify which is the same as Dominus, or lord, and thus sig¬ 
nifies no more than a ladv, and indeed she must have been a 
great lady, since her husband Saturn, who was Abraham'^, co- 
t< mporary, ruled over the Lesser Asia, and the greatest part of 
Europe; as we have already shewn in the preceding part of 
this work. 

Rhodanns, the Rhone, a very rajnd river of Gaul, from which 
quality of rapidity it seems to have derived its name ; for the 
CeUa used the word rhedeg for running or going fast; and some 
there are even yet who pronounce it rheden, as I am informed,^ 
for they still retain different pronunciations and dialects. If 
this be so, I have no reason to donht but Rhodanus comes from 
Rheden, on account of its swift course; on the other hand Arar, 
which is the Soan, was so called from the gentleness and slow¬ 
ness of its motion. It would not be difficult to give the origin 
of the names of the other great rivers t*f France, as well as tliat 
of the people and cities oF that vast and renowned kingdom; 
but it must be waved at present, thoiigli it may perhaps be 
done upon another occasion. 

s 

% 

SABURRA, sand, or ballast for ships, comes from the 
Celtick sabr ; and from thence came the Latin saburrare, to 
ballast a ship. 

Set ale, rye, a sort of grain, comes from the Celtick segal, 

Scutella, a porringer, comes from the Celtick scutell. 

~ Spuma, froth, from the Celtick spoum; as the verb spumare, 
tomes fmm spowrui. 

to Sapor, savour, taste, comes from the Celtick suour, 

Sapo, soap, comes from the Celtick sabon. 

Stagnum, a pool, comes from the Celtick stanc, as from slanctt 
comes stagnare, which jjroperly signifies to stop or stanch, 
though sometimes to overflow. 

Slallum, a stall, is derived fromThe Celtick word stall. 

Sucala: this anciently signified a small hog, and is taken 
from sica, signifying aociently a hog, and all of them came froia 


358 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP, rr, 

the Celtick sic, wh'ch denotes the same thing; and hence the iio- 
7 na/is rightly enough called those stars which at present 

are placed in the head of Taun/s,and were named "YaSif, Parcelh, 
by the Grecians ; for it is to be observed that this word is derived 
from vis, sueSf porci, and not from "Yiir, pluere, to rain, as the 
Greeks would have it, and as it is generally believed to be de- 
ri%^ed at this day, It is very likely that the knot of the stars 
which is about the other part of Tatmis, had formerly another 
name in the northern Barbarian sphere, which was the first and 
most ancient of any ; for I shall shew in another place, that the 
Grecians borrowed it of them, but added to, and made great 
alterations in it. 

— Scrinium, a casket, comes from the Celtick sgrin, or ysgrin, 

' Sao'itla, an arrow, is taken from the word saeih. 

Succus, ]n\ce, from the Celtick sug. 

Scopre, brooms, from the Celtick sgtjb, or ysgnb. 

ttn.-nma, a sum, from the Ccitick som, and summ. 

Solea, the sole of a shoe, front the Celtick sol; but sail is the 
same as solea, piscis, a. sole, which is a fish. 

Sol, the sun, does not come from the Latin solus, a%Vairo 
fancies, but from the Celtick sul, or soul, the sun ; whence they 
say desul, Sunday. 

Sagenct. a net, from the Celtick seigne. 

Stupa, tow, from the Celtick stoup. 

Scapha, a skif, from the Celtick schif, and esquif. 

\ 

Saltare, to leap, comes from the Celticksaillu, which signifies 
the same j and thence salxi, the ancient Salians, who were wont 
to dance and caper, armed, not unlike to the ancient Curetes^ 
who were entrusted with the education of Jupiter. 

Sallere and salire, to dance, come from salla, which signifies 
the same. 

Saturnus, Saturn, a celebrated king of the Titans, who as well 
as the Cello; called him Sadorn, and Sadurn, from which the 
Latines made Saturnus, strong, potent, warlike ; and this is so 
clear, that the descendants of the Celtre at this very day call 
Vies Saturn, Saturday, Di-sadorn, as they call Vies Jevis, 
Thursday, consefcrated to Jupiter, Vi Jou. Our Hebraicians 
are therefore out, io endeavouring to deduce Saturn from Salar, 


i 


«nAP. ir, 


OF NATIONS. 


359' 


to hide ; as they could derive Jovif, or Jupiter, from Jehovah,. 
These potent princes, in their time, had their names from the 
language of the people, who then were called Titans, and after¬ 
wards Celta, or Gauls, as we have before shewed at large. 


T 


TATA, an old word for father, as mamma was for mother. 
The first of these comes from the Celtkk tat, or tad, father, aS' 
mam\s mother. The Greeks from tata have formed “'Aria, by 
the trjinsposing of a letter, w’hich signifies father, as well as- 
papa, which was taken also from the Celtee, which is a sign their 
language spread very far in ancient times: as for the words patev 
and mater, they come originally from the Phrygians; as we- 
have shewn elsewhere. 

*1 Terra, earth, ashes, comes from the Celtkk terr, and /<>.- 

Thronus, a throne, from the Celtkk Iron. 

a tavern, irom the Celtkk tavarn, 

^ Taurus, a bull, from the CcUtck tcro, andtaru. 

Ti es, and tria, three, from the Geltick tri. 

Triginla, thirty, from the Celtkk trcgant. 

Terminus, abound, or limit, from the Celtkk termen', 

Tormentum, torment, comes from the Celtkk iownnant. 

Turris, a tower, is formed from the Celtkk tur, 

Taranis, a name given by some of the Latins to Jupiter, sig¬ 
nifying thunderer; for taran is thunder in Celtkk. 

li Tabula, mensa, a table, from the Celtick taul, and daul. 

Torques, a chain, collar, is formed from the CeWci 

Tornus, a turner, from the Celtkk turn. 

Titulus, a title, from the Celtkk till, and tiltr. 

Toga, a sort of Roman habit, which came originally from the- 
Pelasgians, or Arcadians ; and perhaps it is derived from the- 
Celtkk toe, or tog, which signifies a hat, or covering for the- 
head j f )r in fact, the Romans, in wet weather, covered their 
heads with the lappets of their gowns or robes ; hence the Grecks< 
caJlod this garment a word that seems to be a com— 




THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. II. 


^OO 

pound of/rcc and pert, or 4572, i.e, tectum capitis, a covering for 
Lehead. 

Tania, is the termination of a great many words, as Aquitania, 
J.iisitania, Brittania, for so it ought to be written. It comes 
from tan, or sian, which signifies a country, or region, as it does 
at this day in the east, and especially amongst the Fenians. 
And so Brittania signifies the country of the Brittons ; Aquila- 
nia, a country of waters, but of such as are hot and medicinal ; 
Lusitania, the countr)^ cf the laisians, a Cellick people origi¬ 
nally, fiom whom came the Portuguese. ' 

Ttjrannus, in Greek Tv^«y»©., anciently signified aking, Uiit 
since a tyrant. It comes from the Celtick teyrn, which is ])ro- 
perly a king,* hence teyrnas, in the old Briliih or Welch tongue, 
is at this day the same as regnum, a kingdom, and ieyrnasu as 
Tfgere and imperare, to reign and command. The Greeks and 
Homans in process of time took this word in a£J ill sense, for one 
that governed in a tyrannical manner. 

V 

VENENU3I, poison, comes from the Celtick word unim, or 
vehn, that imports the same. 

Viginti, twenty, comes also from the Cellick viguent, ami 
vgaint. 

Unus, one, from the Celtick nn, and unan, 

Ventus, the wind, from the Celtick vint. 

Vinum, wine, from the Celtick vin, and gmin. 

Uncia, an ounce, from the Cellick unce, and tms. 

Vir, a man, comes from the Celtick vr, which signifies the 
dame • they also say or, and gur, from wlience they say gar in 
some provinces ; and garx.on is the modern French for a boy or 
young man. 

Vipera, a viper, comes from the Celtick viler, 

I 

Variare, to vary, diversify, is taken from the Celtick varia, 

Violare, to corrupt, violate, comes from the Celtick violi. 

Vacca, a cow, comes from the Celtick veuch, and bench. 

Virgo, a maid, young w'oman, comes from the Celtick 
venhes. 


CHAP. II 


OF NATIONS 


361 


Videie, to see, observe, comes from vere, specula, among the 
Celftse. 

Undecem, eleven, from the Cellick rtndec; they also use 
difodec for twelve ; and fridec fov thirteen, and so on to twenty j 
whence it is plain, that the Romans had their numbers from 
them, as apper'rs from decern, taken from the Celiick dec, as well 
as the Greek Alxa ; and it is evident, that not only all the Latin, 
but also Greek numbers, were anciently taken from the Celtick, 
or Titan language. 

Vindemia, vintage, comes from the Cellick word vendem, which 
signifies the same. Hence we find that in some parts of Bre¬ 
tagne, they use rrus bendem, that is, the vintage month, for 
September. , 

Venus, in the genitive Veneris, an imaginary goddess, deriv¬ 
ed from the Cellick vener, or guenner, which properly signifies a 
white and beautiful person, such as prophane and heathen na- 
tions imagined her to be ; I say imagined her to be, for I am 
confident there never was any woman or princess upon earth of 
this name, of whom they made a goddess ; for what was said of 
her of this kind was mere fiction, as well as of Mars, the god of 
war. But the sajne cannot be said of Saturn n.\\A Jou, or Ju- 
pi/ei ; of Rhea and Juno, or Jolinte, who were real princesses, 
and the wives of those potent kings, who had divine honours 
])a-d to them, upon account of their great power and the so- 
vertiga authority they had in Greece, Italy, and all the West. 






THE ANTIQUITIES 


302 ' 


CHAP. Ill* 


€Hx\p. in. 


A Table of the Teutoniclc^ or German Words^ 
are taken from the CeUick Language. 


thick- 


ANCKER, the anchor of a ship,comes from iheCdlicfc ou- 
gor, which signifies the same. 

Aulear, an altar, comes from the Celtkkaltar. 

Ann, signifies that part of a man which reaches from the 
shoulder to the wrist, and comes from arni of the Ciltce. 

^ Alb, alf, and alp, white, from the Celtkk alp. 

^ Arcke, a little chest, from the Celtkk arch. 

Aerde and eerde, earth, from the Celtkk aer, and er. 

Abel, skilful, capable, from the Celtkk abl, and abel. 

nisf Amme, a nurse, good mother, is taken from the Celtkk mamy 
a mother. 

jdppet, and apfel, an apple, comes from the Celtkk aval. 

Acse, and aekse, an axe, taken from the Celtkk hasche. 

Acker, a field, manured land, from the Celtkk acre. 
ib comes from the Celtkk oil. , , 

Ambacht, a servant, comes from the ancient Celtkk word 
ambact. 



CHAP, IH. 


OF NATIONS. 


365 


B 

BACK, a boat to go by water, from the Celikk hac. 

Bat e, a bar that stops things, from the Cellick baar. 

Barm, and berm, a knot, a heap, from the Ctlllck bern. 

Beck, a bird’s bill, from the Cellick bee. 

Fere, and berrie, a bier to carry the dead on, from the Ct/- 
iick biere. 

Bike, the north wind, from the Cellick bis. 

Burse, a purse, from the Cellick bourse, and purs. 

Broedcr and Briuler, brother, from the Ceitick breur, 

Broecke, comes from the Ceitick brag. 

Bonel, a bonnet to cover the head, from the Cellick bonet. 

Born and bern, ordure, from the Cellick bren. 

Baerd, a beard, comes from barf and baru of the Celtae. 

Bancke, a bench, table, from the Cellick banc. 

Bancket, banquet, feast, from the Ceitick banquet. 

Bleed, blood, from the Cdlick goed. ' 

Baniere, ensigns, colours, from the Ceitick banniar. 

Bock, a he-goat, comes from the Cellick buck and bouch. 

Baestard, a bastard, from the Cellick bastard; signifying one 
of a base and mean descent. 

The letter C in the language, being the same as K, 

it will be met with there, and so we proceed to D. , 

J) 

BORE, deure, and ihur, a gate, door of a house, taken from 
the Celia, who named it dor. 

Dansen, to dance, to caper, from the Cellick dansa. 

Disch, a dish, comes from the Ceitick disq. 

JJrei and driie, three, from the Cellick tri. 

Dop and toppe, trump, or top, comes from the Cellick top. 




364 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. Ill 


Dielf people, comes from the Celtick teut, or tnd^ men, or 
people; it also signifies the earth. I am confident that the 
Teutons, afterwards called Germans, have from thence taken 
their name, or at least from Tenth, Mercury. 

Da"ghe, a dagger, or poniard, from the Celticic dag. 

Dritck, oppression, evil, pain, from the Celtick drone. 

Dune, hillocks, sand-hills, downs, from the Celtick dun, a 
hill. 

Dal and ihal, a valley, from the Celtick dola, a low but fruit¬ 
ful place, such as vallies are, 

Daen, deghen, a man, a word only found in compounds, as 
in unter-daen, a subject; deghen-man, a stout and valiant mun» 
It conies from the Celtick d^n, a man. 


E 



DSEL, an ass, from the Celtick as»cn. 
Ecu, and eyn, from the Celtick un. 


• Eere, and acre, to till the earth, comes from the Celtick arai. 

F,y and eye, an egg, from the Celtick vy. 

Eere, and aere, comes from the Celtick er, and ar, which sig¬ 
nify earth. 



F 

FAEL, error, defect, fault, comes from the Celiick fuel, 
Feesle, a feast, solemnity, from the Celtick feast. 

Fulsoen, fashion, mode, manner, from the Celtick fezon. 
Fisck, puli!ick treasure, taken from the Celtick f sc. 


Flaltcrn, to flatter, comes from the Cellickjlalra. 

Forneys, furnace, from the Celiick fames, and this from/yr.T, 
that in Gaulish was an oven. 

Frau, an unmarried woman, a virgin, from the Celiick fran, 
which signifies fah’, beautiful, suitable to a young woman. 


Form, and vorme, form, figure, from the Celtick fiirm. 


CHAP, in. 


OF NATIONS. 


365 


Frisch, fresh, from the Cdtick fresc, 

Fritlen, to roast, fry, was borrowed from the Cellulefrilta, 

^ Fiin, aud fiine, end, bound, from the Cellickfin. 

Franck, and Vranck, free, frank, from the Cellick franck ; 
from w’hich word came the name of the Francks, or French, w1k> 
. settled in Gaul ; and which signified a free people. 

G ' 

GRAEM, a grain, comes from the Cellick graum, 

Griis, grey, or growing grey, from the Cellick gris. 

Greffie, a graft, comes from the Cellick greff. 

Glee, a wave, gidph, from the Cellick go[f. * 

Ghioole, gaol, prison, from the Cellickgeol. 

• Ghiisc, guise, manner, mode, comes from the Cellick gids, 

Gaerdc, regard, observation, from the Cellick gourd. 

Guerand, wan-ant, from the Cellick goarand. 

Guerd, an orchard, garden, from the Cellick gard. 

Glass, glass, and yellow amber, comes from the Cellick gins ; 
which signified glass, and a green colour. 

GariSf or Ganse a goose, comes from the Cellick ennx and goat. 

Gaernizo^n, a garrison, comes from the Cellick gournizon. 

II 

UA3TEX, to haste, to go quick, fi'om the Cellick hasla. 

Hall, an open market-house, or place where they put mer¬ 
chandize, comes from theCc//it/c hull. 

Hors, and horse, ahorse, comes from the Cellick ross. 

Heel, whole, from the Cellick oH. 

J/oarera, horn, from the Ce/A-c/i CO/«. 

^ //aVC//, port, haven, from the Cc///c7i Aa///. ' 

Harp, a harp, a musical instrument, comes from the Cellick 
harp, support, and harpa,to support j because they hold up this 
instrument in order to play upon it. 


366 


CHAP. IH. 


THE ANTIQUITIES 

\ ' 


I 

- I A, that is, yes, and from whence comes the Latin J/a, is 
■taken from the Celtick la, foryes. 


K 

KISTE, a casket, small chest, comes from the Cdlkk cist. 

Kock, a cook, from the Celtick coq. 

Kocke, an old word signifying a cock, taken from the Cdlkk 
>cuq. 

Karre, a chariot, or cart, taken from the Celtick carr. 

Kroone, crown, comes from the Celtick curun, or cruyne. 

Ivarcher, a prison, from the Celtick car char. 

Kappuyn, a capon, from the Celtick capon, and calon. 

KanssCf chance, fortune, from the Celtick chance. 

Kalm, calm, quiet, comes from the Celtick calm. 

Kampfen,QXii. hempen, to fi ght,from the Celtick campa,pugnaref 
SiScamp signifies combat, fight. ^ 

Karmen, to cty out, to lament, from the Celtick carm and 
garm, the shout and noise they made in war. 

Kahan, a hut, or little lodge, comes from the Celtick ca~ 
.ban. 

Kabd, c^^i\e, rope, from the CelUch call, and chabl. 

Kalck, chalk, from the Celtick calch. 

Katf, a gross, or fat man, from the Celtick galb, and calb ; 
thence came they in Gaul to give the name of Galban to him 
:that was Roman emperor, l)ecause of his being so fat. 

Kappe, a crew of seamen, or soldiers, taken from the Celtick 
.cap. 

Rare, and kaerken, a friend, beloved person, from the Celtick 
car, dear and beloved friend. 

Ka'.te, and katx., a cat, comes from the Cdlkk .cax. 


t>IlAP. Ill, 


OP NATIONS 


367 


KetenCy a chain, from the Celtick kaden, or cJiaden, 

Kuiency a crane, from the Celtick gamn, 

KuSy a kiss, from the Celtick cus. 

Koole, cabbage, from the Celtick caul. 

Killcy diCiikielle, a port, or station for ships, from the Celtick 
i cale. 

Kenneby hemp, from the Celtick canab. 

Keuckene, and io/rewe, a kitchen, from the Celtick queguin. 
KaesCy and kase, cheese, from the Celtick kaus. 

^ ^ .Kasscy a little box or case, comes from the Celtick cass. 

KooYy a choir, wherein they sing, from the Celtick char, 
Kerse, and girscy cherries, frnit, comes from the Celtick kiris. 
Kastanie, and kelcen, chesnut, from the Celtick kesien, 

L 

XAMPRAYEy .n lamprey, a sort of fish, from the 
.lampre%^. 

Laterne, a lantern, from the Celtick leern. 

Lard, bacon, from the Celtick lard. 

Leeuv, and Icuv, a lion, from the Celtick leu. 

Lancie, and Ians, a lance, or javelin, from the Celtick lance. 

ballast for ships, from the Celtick tart; but /a/7 in 
high Dutch is weights, burden, Sdc. 

Lavender, lavender, from, the Ct'/Z/cA-Zara////. 

Leppe, and lippe, a lip, from the Celtick /op, and lippe. 

Lyn, and leiuy flax, from the Celtick lin. 

i.eder, and leer., leather, comes from the Celtick ledr, and 
. le:<,a. 

Looys, a house, inn, from the Celtick loge, and logis. ^ 
.Lot, share, portion, lot, from the Celtick lot. 


sas 


THE ANTIQUITIES 

r 


CHAPi III# 


M 

36^ MAMME, and memme, motlier, nurse, from the Celtick 
mam, a mother. 

Marcli, and merch, mark, sign, bound, from the Celtick marCf 
and merq. 

Maerc, an old word for a horse, and taken from the Celtick 
inarch, 

Margh, and mergfiy marl, a sort of earth, comes from the 
Celtick marg, and marl. 

Matckel, a spot, stain, from the Celtick mngl. 

Meerse, merchandize, comes from the Ct7//cA-»iprc. 


i n 0X/ 


Meester, master, lord, from the Celtick mestr. 

Miere, an ant, a sort of insect from the Celtick myr. 


Mocke, an old word, signifying an hog, from the Celtick 
tnoch. 

Mantel, a mantle, the Celtick mantel. 

'' Maere, and maer, the sea, from the Celtick mor, and mar. 

1 Made, a budget, comes from the Celtick mal. 

Maelen, to grind, from the Celtick mala, and malu. 

. Maeden, to reap, from the Celtick medi. 

Menlen, and molen, a mill to grind with, taken f/on) the 
I Celtick meul. 

Mosiaerd, mustard, from the Celtick mustard. 


N 


NEST, a bird’s nest, from the Celtick nith, 
Nichte, a niece, from the Celtick nith. < 

Nieuv, nice, new, from the Celtick new. 

Krte, a mark, sign, from the Celtick nod, and not. 
.Nobel, a noble, brave mrn, from the Celtick nobl. 



CHAP. Ill, 


CF NATIdNS, 


36d 


Nespcl, and mispel, a medlar, from the Celiich mesper. 

Ncen, and ne, not, none, from the Celtkk ne. 

o 

OESTER, an oyster, comes from the CelUck islr, 

Olky oyl, taken from the Cellick t^l, 

Oncie, an onnee, fiMn the Cellick imez, 

Ooghsty harvest, Augnsiy comes from the Cdtick eaust, that 
signifies the same thing. 

Ocksel, the ann-holc, Arm-pit, comes from the Cellick asquely 
and easel. 


V 

PAPPE, pap for an infant, comes from the Cellick papy that 
•ignifies the same thing, from whence came the Laiin word 
pappare. 

Peck, pitch, from the Cellick pec, 

Picken, to peck, prick, from the Cellickpigo. 

Pyle, a stake, a sharp-pointed stick, from the Celtickpill. 
Pyne, and pene, pain, from the Cellick poen. 

Planlen, to plant, from the Cellick planla. 

Ferdrys, a partridge, from the Cellick p/elris. 

Parck, a park, enclosure, comes from the Cellick park. 
Pluyme, a feather, quill, from the Cellick plun, and pluen. 
Pell, a marsh, from the Cellick pul, and pouL 
Toorte, gate, entry, from the Cellick parx, and poixh. 

Pouer, poor, indigent, from the Cellick paour, 

Prys, price, value, from the Cellickpris. 

Pipel, people, from the Cellick poM, 

Post, the post of a door, taken from the Cellick pest. 



370 


TUE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. Ill 


R 

» Pi.iD, a wheel, comes from the Cellick rod. 

Jtansoen, ransom, from the Celtick ranxon. 

Jlyme, rhime, from the €tltick rim. 

Jioofse, a rock, from the Celtick rock, > 

Itouf, prey, spoils, a thing stolen, from the Celtick rob. 

Rente, revenue, rent, comes from the Celtick rent. 

Eancke, order, rank, from the Celtick renc. 

Rasyn, and racs^en, a grape, from the Celtick resin. 

J Ratte, a rat, from the Celtick raz, and^al. 

Rycke, rich, wealthy, comes from the Celtick rich ; the word 
originally signified strong, and potent; and as those who had 
most strength did, by their depredations and robberies, heap up 
most riches; the word rich, hence -came to signify a rich and 
wealthy man, 

’ s . 

> SAFFRAEN, sdiEroxi, irom the Celtick safraon. 

Schaerlaet, scarlet, from the Cellick scarlat. 

, Soppe, pottage, soup, from the Cellick soiipe, and souben. 

Stoppe, tow, from the Cellick stoitp. 

Stronk, a stock, trunk of a tree, or the like, from the Celtick 
trong. 

Sold, and soud, soldiers pay, taken from the Celtick sold ; 
whence the Celtick word soldur, that is, a man of war, or in pay j 
and so the soldurii in C^esre/ ’s Commentaries. 

Some, and somme, a charge, sum, from the Cellick sum, a 
charge. 

Sterre, and steine, a star, from the Celtick ster, and ser. 

Sauer, and soer, sour, sharp, acid, from the Cellick sur >• 
whence came the word suretie, for sorrel. 

Schalef, a porringer, from the Celtick sudel. 


CSAP. III. 


OF NATIONS, 


371 


Sack}, sacking, spoiling, from the Cel tick sac f and thence 
the German word sack-man, for a robber, high-way-man. 

Sayd, and Snd, south country, comes from the Celtick Su, 
south j and in that language, Auel-su is the south wind. 


T 


TAPIIT, and tapeet, tapestry, comes from the Celtick lapicr^ 

Teyie, lata, father, from the Celtick tad, that imports the 
‘’ame thing. 



Tavern, a tavern, publick-house, from the Celtick tavarn. 
!-\y ‘•Taftdy a tooth, from the Celtick daut, and dent. 


Tackse, and tasc, tax, tribute, impost, from the Celtick ta^g, 
and tass. 

'2T? Tafel, a table, from the Celtick table, and taul. 

Teeren, to tear, tread under feet, from the Celtick ierri. 

Tiifn, thyme, an herb, from the Celtick tehn, 

Titte, and iuyte, the nipple, from the Celtick teth. 

Termyn, and term, bound, limit, from the Celtick term, and 
lermen. 

Tonne, and tunne, a tun, cask, from the Celtick tonne, 

Torek, and tertse, a torch, or flambeau, from the Celtick torch. 

Toll, and zoll, toll, tribute, from the Celtick tol, and toll, 

-Torre, and thurn, a tower, from the Celtick hire, and tour, 

Tas, a knot, heap, from the Celtick tus, and das, 

Talie, signifies cutting off or out, which came from the Celtick 
taill; from which the ancienttook/aZ/Vi/e, ani intaliare, 
to cut out or off; and Pliny, if I mistake not, somewhere uses 
talio for siirculus incisus. 


V 


V'OliCKE, a pitch-fork, comes from the Cef/icA/ffre^. 
Versch, fresh, new, from the Celtick fresq. 

Vel, skin, rind, bark, from the Celtick pil, h?Lrk, 


372 


THE ANTIQUITIES 


CHAP. III. 


Veers, verses, from tho Celfick verz, and vers. 

Vaen, andva?<e, banner, ensign, flag, comes from the Celiick 
ban, high, raised, and thence the word hanire. 

Valsch, and falsch, false, not true, taken from the Celtick, 
fols. 

Vasten, and vesien, to fix, fasten, order, comes from the 
Celiick festa, which signifies the same, and so the Celiick jest 
is a feast, solemnity, &lc. because feasts were usually made ou 
fixed days. 

Vorme, form, figure, from the Celtick form and furm. 

VouV, a vault, from the Celtick vole. 

Vich, and Jtsch, fish, from' the Celtick pesc, or pesq. 

Vrank, frank, free, from the Celtick franc. 

Venyn, poison, comes from the Cdtick venim, and benim. 


THE END, 



8 



W, Flint,- Printer, Old Bailey; 













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